The Beauty of Imperfection
by MGMK
Summary: All the main players and a few others. It's all about looking beyond the book cover...
1. Introductions

"Just so you know. We," he pointed between himself and her. "Do not know each other. It's just a coincidence that you and I share the same last name."

"Oh, and we just happened to have transferred from the same school," she said, rolling her eyes as she adjusted her backpack.

Glen pretended to think about it, turning into the school's parking lot. "Precisely."

"Jerk," Spencer said, punching him squarely in the arm, and then re-focusing her attention on everyone else.

There it was. King High. And here she was, new girl in town, fairly precocious, maybe even a little naïve.

"Move it loser," she heard, right before being forced forward as her seat suddenly lurched.

Also, she was the middle child.

Jordan hopped out of the vehicle and into the parking lot, breathing in the crisp, albeit polluted, California air. "Smells like high school," he said, grinning broadly as his older siblings finally emerged from the car. "Ready to make some new friends?"

"Man, where did Mom and Dad find you?" Glen asked, amusedly throwing an arm around the younger boy.

"The same place they found you,"

"A crack house," Spencer offered, tagging alongside and Jordan giggled adorably.

"Funny," Glen deadpanned, playfully narrowing his eyes at her. "No, I believe that's where they found you."

"Yeah," Jordan agreed. "They scored Glen off of some Spanish immigrants in the traveling clown rodeo."

"Explains his love of burritos," Spencer murmured, and just in that instant she fell…head over heels.

Literally.

"Spence," Jordan asked, standing over his sister. "You okay? How many fingers am I holding up?" he asked, holding up the third on his right hand.

"Fuck you," she said groggily, pushing his hand away.

Jordan grinned cheekily. "She's fine," he said, displaying his middle finger prominently for all to see.

Spencer sat up, bracing her weight on her hands, blowing her bangs out of her face in a comical fashion.

"Sorry about that," the young girl said, sounding sincere.

Spencer peered up, squinting into the sunlight and met eyes with the brunette. The other girl was smiling warmly, her brown eyes twinkling magnificently. She did seem sorry.

And Spencer didn't care.

"I bet you are," Spencer grumped, pushing herself off of the ground in an angry rush. "You should watch where you're going."

With that said Spencer promptly turned on her heel and stomped off, not bothering to look around once even as she heard her brothers scurry after her - Glen only after apologizing profusely on her behalf.

"Two minutes. Two minutes and we're already the most hated people in school," Jordan said, rushing up to her.

"What are you babbling about?" she asked.

Glen held up a warning finger before Jordan could dispute that he, in fact, does not babble and filled the girl in. "Did you get a good look at the girl you just blew off?" he asked.

"No," she said, fixing him with a questioning glance before rolling her eyes theatrically. "Why, was she hot or something?"

"No," Glen hurriedly said and then rightly amended his statement. "Well, yeah, but that's not what I was talking about."

"Glen, stop being cryptic and tell me already," she said, bored with him.

Glen spun her around by her shoulders, facing her so that she could see the girl she'd just had the trip n' run incident with. She looked on as the girl balanced herself on one crutch as she reached for the other - the one that had apparently tripped Spencer.

But that isn't what captivated Spencer. What really held the girl's attention was the lack of a limb coming out of the left leg of the brunette's jeans.

"Yep," Jordan deadpanned. "You verbally bitch slapped a handicap. That means you're going to hell."


	2. Three Strikes

"Oh my God," she whispered, bringing a hand up to cover her gaping mouth.

Glen just sighed, shaking his head at her. "You're gonna have to apologize."

Spencer's head came around on a swivel. "No, no way. I…I can't."

"Well, you're gonna have to Spencer. That girl's one of the most popular girls in the school. I mean, have you even taken a look at this place?"

She chose to do so then, glancing around the walls of the hallway. He was right, the girl was everywhere: Ashley Davies. She was a member of the softball team, the school musical, and class president. Everywhere she looked there was a picture of the girl's smiling face.

This was not going to end well.

---

She didn't feel the heat until her third period class, the one right before homeroom.

She stumbled into the room, barely finding the room number before the bell was ringing. It wasn't something she practiced regularly, but she was having a tough time finding her way around this school, made even more difficult by the chilly reception she'd been receiving all day.

The crowded hallways literally condensed as soon as she entered them and she was hard pressed not to receive an elbow to the ribs or a backpack bump every two steps. Yep, she was a marked woman.

Of course, if she didn't know it before this moment, she knew it now.

The entire room went deadly silent the moment she walked in.

Swallowing thickly, she hastily made her way to a seat in the corner, away from everyone else, like she was sure they wanted. She hastily pulled out a book, any book, and stuffed her face inside it, hoping to hide the redness that had very suddenly taken up permanent residence on her cheeks.

But, because life was really _that_ unfair, the door creaked open again and in crutched Ashley Davies. She looked a little windswept even as she offered a sincere apology to the homeroom teacher, Mr. Markham. He, of course, forgave her, because, duh, if people with two legs couldn't make it on time then how could anyone expect her to.

The boy on Ashley's arm smiled as he took her bag and carried it over to a desk. A desk near Spencer.

Oh God.

Hoping against hope Spencer concentrated even harder on the blurry text in front of her because maybe if she concentrated enough-

"Spencer Carlin?"

Damn it.

She poked her head up a little as she watched Mr. Markham settle down the class. "Come on guys, listen up. We've got a transfer student in today so why don't we all give Spencer Carlin a nice, warm welcome to King High. C'mon Spencer, buddy. We don't bite I swear."

Before she could sink lower in her seat, some overly made-up girl cleared her throat, throwing her a nasty look before speaking loudly. "I think that's it over there, Mr. Mark."

Suddenly, all eyes were on Spencer, including the brown ones from earlier today, and sadly, the ground would not open up beneath her.

"Oh," Mr. Markham said, scratching his balding head comically. "Why you're not a boy, are ya? Well, don't be shy. Come on and step right up and tell us a little bit about you."

"Um…okay," she somehow managed to mumble, earning a few snickers for the effort. So wrapped up was she in her panic, she didn't notice a foot slide purposefully out until it was too late sending her flying to the floor for the second time today, only this time, someone caught her before she fell.

"Gotcha," the boy said, still holding her firmly with one arm. The girl, Ashley, seated to his left just smiled at Spencer cutely.

"You seem to have this problem with staying upright, huh?" she asked, her face showing nothing but amusement. Spencer wasn't embarrassed though. That is, she wasn't until the class started roaring.

"Alright," Mr. Markham said, raising his voice over the bedlam. "That's enough. Quite enough. We'll give that introduction a go some other time," he offered, fixing his green eyes on Spencer.

The girl nodded quickly, scrambling off the floor to cower in her desk, but not before sharing another long, lingering look with Ashley.

---

Twenty minutes later the bell rang and she hurriedly – and thankfully, staying on her feet this time – high-tailed it out of there before she could suffer any more mortification.

Somehow, being in the same space as the uber-popular girl – especially when the uber-popular girl was so damn nice – made Spencer much more uneasy than was healthy.

Dragons had made their way to her stomach now.

There was no way she was going to eat lunch. Luckily, she had her lunch period with Jordan so all wouldn't be lost. She could pull rank as an older sibling and force him to eat with her.

"Jordan!" she called out, spotting him chatting to a couple of people down the hall.

The younger boy glanced in her direction before whipping back around quickly.

"Jordan?!" she called out again, moving quicker now that he seemed to have taken off. Luckily – for her only – the crowded hallway made his escape short-lived.

"Jordan?" she hissed, grabbing his elbow. "What the hell?"

"Excuse me. Do I know you?" the boy asked, glancing around.

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Drop the act Jordan. People already know we're related."

The younger boy's shoulders dropped. "Tell me about it. This guy tried to steal my lunch."

"What?" she snapped, worriedly looking him over for injury like the protective older sister she was. "Who is he? I'll kick his ass."

"Calm down sister bear. I just gave it to him. Mom made tuna fish again," he said, scrunching up his face as they entered the cafeteria. "He can have that shit."

Spencer laughed a little before finding them an empty table to eat at. "You can have my lunch if you want it. I'm not all that hungry," she said, handing out her bagged lunch which he greedily took.

"If you insist," he mumbled, already eating an apple. "How's your day been?"

"Crappy," she murmured, propping her head up with her hand, her cheek smashed comically. "People have been pushing me and hitting me, and I think one of my teachers is going to end up being my best friend," she said, sighing heavily afterward. "I hate it here."

"It's been one day,"

"Hate it," she reiterated.

"Well, I think that's a little bit harsh,"

That's not Jordan.

Spencer looked up slowly and almost had to bite her tongue to make sure she wasn't imagining things.

"Hi," Ashley Davies said, as clear as day.

"Uh…"

"Um…"

Those Carlin children were damn articulate.

"This is our table," Ashley continued on to say.

"Oh shit," Jordan rushed out, hurrying to stand. "We're sorry."

"Chill little dude," some lanky older boy said, ruffling Jordan's little mop head. "We can share."

Spencer felt like someone had inserted a lightning rod where her spine should have been and then she felt like maybe she had an iron lung because she was breathing so unnaturally.

"It's cool, right?" she heard Ashley ask but all she could do was nod her head and scoot over to allow the newcomers room to sit down.

All in all, there were a total of five new people: two boys and three girls. Ashley, of course, the boy who saved her earlier was named Aiden, Madison was the name of the girl she suspected tripped her, the tall boy who'd taken an instant liking to her younger brother was Courtney, and another quiet yet observant girl named Kyla.

Ashley's crew.

Plus, loner Spencer and comic genius Jordan.

What an eclectic bunch.

"I could kick your ass in Guitar Hero man, do _not_ doubt this," Jordan was saying, pointing his finger in Courtney's face. "Tell him Spencer. I'm a Guitar Hero god."

Spencer felt everyone's eyes on her and courageously stepped up to the social batting plate.

"Yeah," she stuttered out, unconvincingly. "He's pretty good."

Swing and a miss.

Strike one.

"Okay," Courtney said, shooting a look at the others. "Well, I'm gonna go and meet up with my tutor because a man can't play basketball unless I keep up my straight C average. It was nice meeting you little dude. You too Spencer."

"Hold on, Court. Wait up," Madison said, hurriedly leaving the awkward table to catch up with her guy.

Spencer shifted uncomfortably feeling eyes on her. It was Ashley who spoke next.

"So, where'd you guys transfer from?"

The question was directed toward Spencer but since the girl was currently staring at the lunch tabletop's pattern, she was not aware.

Again, Jordan to the rescue.

"O-H-I-O implants actually. A.K.A. Lame. It's nothing like L.A,"

Spencer was still batting zero apparently.

"That's cool," Aiden offered, handing Ashley half of his Oreo. "I mean, the Midwest is kind of awesome."

"Yeah, if you're a mole," Jordan deadpanned, cracking up the table again.

"What does that even mean?" Kyla managed to ask between giggles.

Jordan, grinning sheepishly, merely shrugging. "Sometimes the things I say are purely to be heard not understood."

"Good to know," Aiden said, grabbing his tray. "Well, come on Ash. We gotta get a move on if we're gonna get you to Trigonometry on time."

"Oh okay," Ashley said, using the help Kyla and Aiden offered to get up and on her crutches.

The older boy shouldered the girl's backpack as well as his own. "Take care, Jordan," he offered with a smile.

Jordan wiggled his fingers like an idiot.

Ashley crutched the minimal distance to where Spencer was sitting. "Hey," she said, forcing the other girl to look at her. "It was nice meeting you Spencer."

The girl was practically handing her a bone, thrusting it in her face, and saying 'hey, take me. Take me or be a loser forever.'

Spencer just nodded again, looking away from those burning eyes and officially missing the chance…again.

Srtiiiiiike Three!!!

She's outta there!!!!


	3. The Reset Button

After the disastrous lunch period, Spencer found out her luck was just not going to improve.

She had two more classes with the girl, both of which had at least two of her other friends, including Trigonometry right after lunch.

By day's end, she literally ran to Glen's car, practically doing a headfirst leap into the passenger seat.

Jordan, ever the joker, approached the car a few minutes later, rapping on the passenger window to get Spencer's attention. The blonde looked up and glared at him for scaring her and he just motioned for her to roll her window down.

"What?"

The boy grinned, holding up a Snickers™ candy bar. "Wanna get away?"

She couldn't help it. She laughed.

"God, you're so annoying. Get in the car, idiot."

A few minutes after that and Glen was approaching the car, pretty cheerleader on his arm.

"Alright babe, so I'll give you a ring later…" The girl nodded. "Okay, can I get a hug?" Glen wrapped his arms around the thin girl's frame, giving a thumbs up to Jordan as the two exchanged macho expressions.

Spencer rolled her eyes.

Boys.

Finally, Glen was in the car, starting the ignition and driving the Carlin clan back home.

"Okay," he said, a few minutes into the car ride. "You've gotta make it right Spence."

"What?"

"Everybody hates you. I mean, every girl I approached instantly asked me if I was the brother of that dumb blonde that dissed Ashley,"

"And you didn't defend me," she said, sulking. "Some big brother you are."

"Well, it was kind of dumb Spence,"

"So? You're my brother. You're still supposed to have my back,"

"I did. I still claimed you and everything but I'll be damned if your little transgression makes me miss out on some valuable…close your ears Jordan,"

Jordan rolled his eyes before leaning up. "You'd better play nice Spence so Glen can get some bootay."

Glen snorted. …This kid.

"I wouldn't've put it quite like that but…don't you feel at least a little bit bad about it Spencer?" Glen asked and Spencer shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Of course I do. But, let's say I do go and speak to this girl. What am I gonna say? Sorry for yelling at you the other day. I wouldn't have if I'd known you were missing a leg. I mean, come on Glen. That's ridiculous,"

"You're right," Jordan piped up. "I'm stumped."

"Jordan…" Glen warned. Handicaps were not funny in his book.

"WHAT?" the boy loudly asked. "What? What? What? No pun. I swear."

"Anyway," Spencer started, rolling her eyes at him. "I have no idea how to go about it and since I don't I won't."

"Bitch."

"Jordan!"

---

Spencer was alone in her room finishing a reading assignment when there was a knock on her door.

"What?"

"It's Luke."

Aw man.

"Come in."

The door cracked open and in popped the head of her oldest brother, Lucas. Tall, lanky, and just sickeningly gorgeous, Luke was older than Glen by three years. At one point in time, he had quite the promising future, but, seeing his mom struggle so much when he was younger weighed heavily on his decision to go away for college.

In the end, he opted for community classes at night and a full-time job in the daytime to help with the bills.

Which meant he only had a limited window for sibling interaction. Which meant that right now he was only in here to ask Spencer to-

"Make dinner."

"Are you asking me or telling me?"

"Asking, without a question mark."

"Well, I guess when you put it that way…" she said, rolling her eyes and pushing up off of the bed.

Luke eyed her for a moment, not particularly pleased with her attire. "Can I ask you something Spence?"

"Is this a trick question?"

"Why do you dress like that?"

She looked down at her clothes. Baggy t-shirt, shredded jeans, Birkenstocks…She saw no problem. "Like what?"

"Like…I don't know…weird. It's like you're trying to cover up how pretty you are or something,"

Spencer, in her own right, got all of the good looks that skipped over Glen. She was the female equivalent of Lucas and would look even more gorgeous if she put in a little effort. Problem is, the girl was not one for anything that involved effort. If it didn't come easily for Spencer Carlin, it was not for her.

Lucas, of all people though, had been noticing a subtle change in his sister since the move to California, and maybe even before then. She'd become reclusive, abandoned some of her closest friends, or rather, just declined more than a few offers to hang out with them. She'd gradually become this homebody and while he may not be the most attentive fool on the planet, he'd try to figure this out.

Spencer, shocked at the off-handed compliment, couldn't fight the fire that raged a storm on her cheeks. "I don't," she said, shrugging simply, eyes on the floor. "Not really."

"Yeah, you do. It's like you're afraid to look cute because then the boys would be all over you or something," Lucas said, managing to smile. He was teasing but when her head snapped up, fear and loathing flashing quick in her eyes, he knew he'd struck a chord.

Before he could question her though, Spencer's bedroom door flung open again, Jordan crawling through the entryway dramatically.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Luke asked, looking down at the boy with mildly wearing patience.

Jordan gestured for him to lean down which he did. Once down there, Jordan clutched the older boy's collar, bringing his ear close. "I….need….food," he choked out before laughing uncontrollably.

"Wow Jordan," Lucas mumbled, righting himself and then setting off to get ready for school.

"You are such a loser," Spencer said, throwing a pillow at him before stomping off to the kitchen. She'd never tell him but she was so grateful for the intrusion.

---

The next day was hell all over again.

…But only Spencer's own personal version of hell.

It came equipped with Madison Duarte, some overzealous jocks, and one dangerously beautiful Ashley Davies.

She was sure if there were ever such a thing as fatal beauty, she was it.

And now she'll pause for the requisite coming out of the closet.

She knew it, God knew it, and she was fairly certain her best friend back in Ohio Debbie knew it, but everyone else was in the dark about Spencer's sexuality.

She liked girls.

She liked girls a lot.

She'd never kissed one, never held hands with one, never even drunkenly admitted that she thought Angelina Jolie was hot – primarily because she didn't think she was hot. Not her type.

Anyway, the point is, Spencer had never done the gay thing. Back in Ohio, she was too afraid to try it. Even when she and Debbie – on a dare – decided to sneak into the one gay bar in Dayton she'd been so overwhelmed by the gayness of it all that she was darn near paralyzed by the time anyone approached her.

So, in reality, Spencer was a chicken. Why she was so afraid? Well, that was something she kind of had figured out.

Her mom, while staunchly Catholic, would not even blink an eye if Spencer brought some girl home and was like, 'Hey, we do stuff to each other at night' because that's how she decided she would come out.

It would be so Jordan.

Her brothers, after some ribbing…wait, scratch that. After much ribbing, they'd settle down and probably just try to hook her up with people.

Well except Jackson. He was the baby boy after all and he might just try to set her up with that stuffed character from Sesame Street.

Still, something, something dreadful, was holding Spencer back. It started with an "R" and ended in an "ejection".

Yeah, she was deathly afraid on someone saying no. Well, saying no and then telling everyone they said no so now everyone would know that she was a girl who liked girls and she was just starting a new school and she was a junior so she still had, like, years at this place and it would suck more so if on top of pissing off the entire school for snapping at their prized possession (The Ashley) she also further alienated herself by becoming one of the five carpet munchers on campus.

She'd looked. She'd counted.

There were only five.

And one of them was a teacher who she suspected was sleeping with one of the girls but that was another story.

For now, Spencer was implanted firmly in the closet, not to be disturbed or set free until college…or you know, never, which ever came first.

But she could really start paying attention in school instead of spacing out because it would save her from a lot of humiliation.

BANG!

Like that.

Spencer shook the cobwebs and found herself to be staring quite suddenly into the most exquisite brown eyes ever.

Familiar they were.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

Whoa.

Déjà vu.

She slowly brought her hand up to her head, checking for blood. It was funny because she could smell it but she couldn't feel it.

"What happened?" she mumbled out, still not all the way there.

"You walked right into my locker door," the other girl said, trying not to giggle because-

"Ha!" Spencer even had to laugh aloud at that. "I what? Wow. What a loser." The fog was starting to clear, and as it did so did the person crouched in front of her, holding onto a crutch.

"Well, I don't think you're a loser," Ashley said with a small smile, placing a hand over Spencer's that was lying prone on the floor. "A little clumsy maybe."

"Oh my God," Spencer gasped, snatching her hand away. "I'm so so so so so sorry. I just keep messing up with you." That last part was mostly mumbled to herself.

Ashley braced herself on her crutches as Spencer rose from the floor quite effortlessly, flustered.

"First I bitch at you for tripping me, which you obviously could not help,"

"Your brother apologized for that,"

"Then I stole you guys' lunch table yesterday,"

"It's not _ours_ so much as it's the school but–"

"And now I'm defacing your private property with my face,"

"Spencer, would you please–"

"I'm just sorry. Sorry for all of it," she said in a rush, hurrying to leave but a crutch in her path – thank God she saw it this time – blocked her escape.

"You really like to get yourself worked up, huh?" Ashley said, grinning at the dumbfounded face Spencer was wearing. "Everything you just said, it's over. Done with. And I'm over it, so if it's alright with you, we can move on. So, is it alright with you?"

Spencer nodded mutely.

"Well, let's just start over since we kind of got off on the wrong foot," Ashley said, hopping on her crutches a little and extending a hand toward Spencer. "No pun. I swear," she added, grinning slowly.

Spencer smiled finally and took the other girl's hand, shaking it with gusto.

So, maybe she could start over.


	4. Family

**A/N: Okay, you guys win. I surrender. Let's see an interesting thing about me is that I've never seen a single South of Nowhere episode...oh and that I'm a pathological liar. J/K. Here you go!!**

--

"Ashley, sweetie! It's time for breakfast!"

The brunette's eyes fluttered open at the auditory intrusion. First, she saw her alarm clock. It read 7 o'clock.

Then she saw the picture frame and sighed a little.

It was a tragic event when it happened, one that shook their entire community.

Raife Davies – a man born in raised in Phoenix, Arizona – was an honest man of much respect and esteem. He worked at the National Bank and Trust, an investment broker, and he was very good at what he did. God-fearing and raised in the church, Raife was very careful when selecting a life-partner and very old school. He met her in church spoke to her father and mother before even asking her on a date but when he finally did, looking charming and wearing his best suit, Christine Woods couldn't resist. Not that she would but her mother always told her that it's best to keep a little mystery. In fact, her mother told all of her children that and some of them took it closer to heart than others, as they'd find out later.

But all of that aside, they had a fanciful courtship – full of picnic baskets and midnight strolls and carriage rides, which were hard to come by in Phoenix. And when she said "I do" they picked up shop and set off toward California for a new life – together.

Shortly thereafter they had found their footing in sunny Los Angeles, California and Raife set out to make himself a name in that town. Using his degree in finance to his advantage, it wasn't long until he'd made a name for himself at one of the most prestigious banks in the area and rose to funds manager very quickly. Christine, the homemaker by nature, had settled in quite nicely into their nice-sized ranch style home. She sat on the board at the local church and was very active in the neighborhood activities.

They had the picture perfect life – loving husband and wife, successful career, active social life, and loving family. But in all of that, their life was missing just one piece: a child.

Ashley was born in the third year of the marriage. After numerous unsuccessful attempts, this one actually stuck and in exactly nine months, seven days, two hours, and fifty-two minutes after the conception, Raife Davies cut the cord of the big-brown-eyed, completely tiny, ten fingers and ten toes having, beautiful little being.

He cried when he finally held her.

Years passed and then some more after that, and their brown-eyed baby turned into a gorgeous little girl. She was full of sugar and spice and everything nice, and she was practically made of dimples and curls.

The cutest.

But then, well, you can read the paper:

**LOS ANGELES – Raife Davies, a well to do funds manager and the Western Sun Savings and Trust, was killed today in a freak accident involving a runaway trailer hitch. He was on his way to drop his nine-year old daughter off at school before heading to work when the unmanageable trailer struck the driver's side of his vehicle. He was pronounced dead on the scene. His wife, Christine Davies, also a passenger in the vehicle, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition where she later died of complications due to her injuries. The little girl is currently at Saint Andrew's hospital and is listed in critical condition.**

Some days she still can remember the pain as clear as day. The car door on her left collapsed and pinned her foot underneath her father's seat and the metal. She almost threw up but the violent impact made her head ricochet off of her window and rendered her unconscious until she woke up in the hospital room and Uncle Mark and Uncle Jason were there.

_She felt really sleepy and really heavy and when she tried to open her eyes it felt like they were glued shut. She tried to move her mouth but found that it was full of cotton – quite literally._

"_Mark, I think she's awake."_

_There were some sniffles near her head and then a release of breath. "Thank God."_

"_Hey honey," he said, and she could feel his hand on her head. She finally won the battle with her eyes and opened then. Her two uncles were leaning over her, both of them looking near tears. "Hey little Ashley."_

_She tried to move but found that she couldn't and let out a little whimper as a tiny twang of pain shot along her spinal column. _

"_Stay real still, little one. You're gonna be okay," he said, his voice soothing. "I know you're scared right now but Uncle Mark promises he's going to take care of you."_

_He kept brushing her little bangs and she drifted off to sleep, barely hearing the report about her accident.  
_

She realized soon enough that things were never going to be the same.

Words like, "It happened very quickly. He never saw it coming," and "She suffered very little. They assured us," and "The only way they could get her out of there was to cut it off," soon meant a lot more to Ashley than they meant to everyone else.

Those words were about her father…her mother.

Those words were about her.

If you ask her now how she made it through, she probably wouldn't be able to tell you. A lot of prayer maybe, perhaps it was because Kyla was right with her through everything, but more than that, she would most likely attribute it to the fact that she was unquestionably loved.

Her new family was a testament to that.

"C'mon Ash. Daddy made French toast," Kyla said excitedly, rapping on her door.

The other girl finally cast her blankets aside, letting the past drift away just like the shadows in her room were slowly being shunned away by the sunlight.

She swung her legs out of bed, reaching for her crutches with one hand and the picture frame with the other and able to do so after many years of practice. She pressed a kiss on both Raife and Christine's cheeks before placing the family portrait back on the nightstand, rushing off to join Kyla and her uncles for breakfast.

--

"Hey sleepyhead," Jason said, sliding some more bacon onto Kyla's plate. "Glad to see you finally came to join us."

"Yeah," she giggled as his poked her nose with his index finger. "Sorry about that. I was _really_ tired."

"Are you okay?" Mark worriedly asked, pulling the newspaper away from his face momentarily.

"I'm fine," she assured him and he went back to reading. "Madison kept me up talking all night. Man, she can really drone on about nothing sometimes."

"Be nice Ashley," Jason admonished, wiping his hands on his apron. "Does anyone want anything else?"

"I need more syrup," Mark and Kyla said at the same time, then cracked up immediately after.

Jason shook his head at them grabbing the syrup out of the cupboard. "I know she's adopted but I swear she's half him sometimes," he whispered conspiratorially to Ashley.

"Crap," Mark muttered, jumping out of his seat. "I didn't realize it was this late." He hurriedly finished the rest of his coffee, grabbing his briefcase and paper, rushing over to kiss each girl on the forehead. "See you girls later." He rushed past Jason, kissing him briefly on the lips. "Love you."

"Love you," Jason called out. "Be safe."

--

"Am I picking you up after school?" Jason asked them, pulling up outside of King.

Kyla tugged on her backpack and held onto Ashley's as the girl got out of the car with her crutches. "Aiden's got us I think," she said rolling her eyes at the look she was being given.

"Okay," Jason said, giving her a look. "Not too late then. You know how your Dad is. Have a good day, girls."

"Bye Daddy."

"Bye Uncle Jay," Ashley added, finally righting herself on her crutches.

Jason drove off, honking at Aiden as he saw the boy jogging over to the girls.

"Hey babe," he effused, lifting Kyla up and twirling her around a little. "Miss me?"

Kyla giggled moronically and Ashley faux gagged off to the side. "Maybe just a little."

"Aw, bruise my ego why don't ya?" he laughed, setting her down. "Hey Ash."

"Yo Adrian," she said in her best Rocky voice.

The boy groaned, annoyed. "Stop calling me that."

"Sorry," she smiled. "Can't."

He grabbed the girl's bag off of Kyla and started walking with them toward the building.

"I really can't wait for basketball season to start. I've been so bored,"

"Oh, so I'm not enough for you now," Kyla asked, sending an amused look Ashley's way.

"You're more than enough for me," Aiden assured her, smirking. "Maybe even…too much."

"I'll say," Ashley snorted, thwarted slightly as her passage was impeded – by an idiot.

"How are you doing today Ashley?"

Well maybe she shouldn't be so harsh.

"I'm fine Chris. How are you?"

The green-eyed boy ran a nervous hand through his honey-golden locks. He flashed the girl a winning smile and thought for sure she was gonna say yes this time. Not to brag or anything, but he was the quarterback of the football team and his family was fairly well-known – well, his mom was. Everyone saw Basic Instinct. But, for some reason, he'd never been able to win over this Ashley, which was too bad. Because she was all kinds of awesome according to him.

"I'm good," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was wondering actually…um…if you would…"

Kyla and Aiden looked on awkwardly as the boy attempted to speak. They'd witnessed several of these and it was always the same. Ashley would let the boy talk, finally culminating in him asking her out and she'd always politely refuse.

Aiden didn't know why. He liked Ashley and Chris and honestly they'd be perfect together.

Kyla suspected she knew why, but she couldn't be sure. After all, she'd never just come out and ask the girl.

And Ashley, well, she wasn't really aware of what was going on but she didn't like this Chris and until she could figure it out, that was enough to keep him at a distance.

"…go out with me this weekend?"

"This weekend…isn't really good for me Chris. Maybe some other time?" she said, never one to be mean.

"Okay," he nodded, deflated but not letting it show too much. "Sure. Some other time."

"Great," she said, offering him a smile.

Yeah.

Not so much.


	5. Moving Right Along

**Super Update Thursday**

**---**

"Oh look. There's Spencer," she said, hurriedly crutching over to the girl and leaving that awkward scene behind.

The blonde girl looked up, hearing her approach. She quickly checked the ground to make sure she didn't have anything in the way.

"What are you looking for?"

"Just…checking. Making sure there's nothing laying around for you to trip over," the blonde girl said, brushing some hair out of her face.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I've had these things," she said, gesturing to her crutches. "…for quite some time now. I'd actually be more concerned about you. How long have you had your legs now?"

Spencer turned bright red at the gentle teasing, grounding her eyes. "Shut up," she murmured, completely embarrassed.

Ashley grinned, fully prepared to further torment the girl.

"All hail queen Ashley!"

They both turned somewhat to see Jordan, on his knees, crawling over to them.

Spencer rolled her eyes as her younger brother took the other girl's hand and kissed the back of it. "It is a pleasure to meet you m'lady," he said, voice cracking slightly.

"You're a loser Jordan," Spencer told him and Ashley just chuckled as the boy got to his feet.

"I'm not. I'm just categorically unperturbed about what the rest of these posers think of me. You should try it some time," the boy said, his face lacking the playful quality it almost always had. Then it melted into a grin. "I mean…I know you are but what am I?"

Spencer rolled her eyes and Ashley laughed at the charming young man. He was annoying sure, but it was cute. "Why are you in my space? I thought you were," she made finger quotes, "Avoiding me."

"I was," he assured her, adjusting his backpack. "But then Miss Ashley here actually spoke to you so I figured it was okay to associate with you."

"I hate you," Spencer murmured, forgetting Ashley was there for a moment as she glared at her younger brother. Ashley just grinned, taking in the duo with non-faux fascination.

She liked this girl if for no other reason than she couldn't stay upright for more than ten minutes. It was really funny because as open as Ashley was, she wasn't too keen on getting to know new people or wanting to know them more. It probably was something complicated like abandonment issues and things of that nature, but Ashley generally said "hi" to people and didn't get much more invested in that.

But this Spencer girl intrigued her, for some unknown reason.

"Hey, what are you doing after school?" she randomly asked the girl, swinging back and forth on her crutches making the edge of her jeans scuff the ground.

Spencer kind of looked around discreetly, making sure the girl was talking to her. "Um…homework, probably. I don't really do…much."

"Well, maybe you wanna hang–"

"Ash!" Courtney interrupted the scene as he hurriedly made his way over to the girl, Madison in tow. "You told him no, again?!"

"Calm down, Windham," she said, willing the color to go away from her cheeks. Almost asking Spencer to hang out was really a lot more difficult than it should have been. "I'm gonna be busy this weekend."

"Doing what? Softball's in the Spring and you don't really have to worry about track training and I just know Mrs. Putnam penned you for lead in the play already," Courtney smartly listed all the reasons why Ashley shouldn't be busy this weekend. He should know, they both were extracurricular addicts, joining up for any and everything the school hosted. Well, except for theatre. He could _not_ get down with that. "So, what are you gonna be busy doing?"

Ashley shrugged, caught. "I dunno…PMSing," she deadpanned, smirking when Spencer and Jordan snickered, the younger boy clamming up immediately when Courtney shot him a glare.

"What are _you_ laughing at?" Madison asked Spencer, lips turned up in a bit of a snarl.

Scary.

"Leave her alone Madison," Ashley said, coming to Spencer's rescue.

Madison dismissed the comment with a toss of her hair, choosing instead to stand silently by her man.

"But seriously Ashley, why not? What have you got against Chris?" Honestly, it was a little weird that he was going to bat so hard for this guy, but he owed him. Chris covered for him when he showed up to practice high as a kite, a stunt that could have cost him every prospective college scholarship he'd been offered. Plus, he had hooked up Bennet and Janice, Terrence and Sharon, and Kyla and Aiden so he thought he was kind of good at this matchmaking thing, so damn it Ashley! Let him make a match.

"Nothing," the girl stated defensively, hating being put on the spot. "He's just…I mean...."

"Hey baby," Madison cooed, pulling on the boy's arm. "Leave Ash alone. We're gonna be late for class."

"Alright," Courtney reluctantly agreed, turning away slowly. "But we're talking later Davies."

"I'll be waiting!" she called out, voice sounding mockingly cheerful. She turned back to the blonde, smiling ruefully. "Sorry about that, he can be…uh…"

Spencer grinned. "Annoying? Nosey? Loud?"

"You rang?" Jordan spoke up, squeezing in between the two.

Spencer shook her head, narrowing her eyes at him even as her lips twitched upward and Ashley just cracked up.

"Man, he is a riot, huh?" she managed to get out between giggles and Jordan just tilted his head slightly looking all 'Who _me_?'

"Something like that," Spencer muttered, ruffling his hair.

--

"Alright guys, settle down," Mr. Markham said, handing out flyers. "I got papers today and you know what that means, the school year has officially started, yay!"

The class groaned and Spencer smiled a little to herself. At least they all weren't that different from her.

She was in homeroom, and she happened to share homeroom with Ashley, Aiden, and, unfortunately, Madison.

"Mr. Mark," Madison called out, waving her hand in the air enthusiastically. "May I make an announcement?"

Mr. Mark nodded, hopping up onto his desk. "You have the floor Miss Duarte."

"Hi everyone. As you know, Ashley's decided not to run for homecoming queen this year and as her BFF and wanting to keep it all in the party I hereby am announcing my candidacy. So…make sure you vote…for me!"

The group of girls around her squealed and Spencer rolled her eyes, so over them.

"That reminds me," Mr. Markham started, pulling out another flyer. "The Back to School Dance has been pushed up from Saturday to Friday night so the deadline for tickets is now Thursday."

Spencer's eyes grew wide.

Oh no.

Not a _dance_.

"Alright guys. Free time until the bell but um, Spencer, can I speak with you?"

The blonde's head shot up, looikgn wide-eyed at the man.

She felt eyes on her back as she walked up to his desk, sitting at a chair he had sitting on the side of it.

"Yes, Mr. Markham,"

"Hey," he smiled. "Call me Mr. Mark. Everyone else does."

"Okay," she said, breathing a little.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about a couple of your classes,"

Spencer nodded, confused.

"Your trigonometry teacher, Mrs. Danforth, thinks you're having a tough time with the material," the man said, keeping his eyes on her and her alone. "Is that true?"

"Well, I mean," the girl squirmed. "I mean, I have only been here for a little while and it's not exactly the beginning of the year…but yeah, it is a lot harder than what I was doing in school last year."

"That's what she thought. You know, us teachers here at King want to help our students before they fall completely behind so call this a preemptive strike if you will but I signed you up for the tutoring program," he told her. "Now don't worry, it's completely confidential and no one will even know that you're getting help except you, your tutor, and me so you're good, okay?"

She nodded again, a little dumbfounded but what was she gonna do?

"Oh, and if there's ever anything you need to talk about, just remember, my door's always open. Literally. We have cubicles here,"

She couldn't help but snort a little at the dumb joke and smiled, nodding away. "Okay. Thanks Mr….Mark."

--

"Again with the denials man," Chris mumbled, stabbing his jello cup with a little more anger than necessary. "What is that girl's deal? I mean I'm fucking Christopher Ledger. Any girl would want me," he paused here, spotting some junior girl walking with her boyfriend. "Hey you," he called to her. "Wanna go out on Saturday?"

The girl pushed her boyfriend away grinning madly. "Sure, what time?"

"See what I mean?" he said to Courtney, waving the girl off.

Courtney smiled apologetically at the girl before turning his full attention to Chris. "Maybe you're trying to hard."

"Maybe you should shut up," Chris shot back.

"Hey fellas," Aiden said, straddling the lunch table bench. "What's going on?"

"Chris is expounding upon the concept of rejection," Courtney told him laughing when Chris socked him in the arm. "What man? You told me she said no. That's the definition of rejection."

"No rejection requires rejecting someone and I did not get rejected. She's just busy she said,"

"She's been busy for months," Aiden mumbled, snickering at the boy.

"Whatever assholes," Chris grumbled, glaring at the two of them. "Mark my words. I _will_ get the girl."

--

"I forgot that it started after school today," Ashley apologetically told them, backing away from the car. "But tomorrow after school, we totally hang."

"That's going in my planner Ashley," Aiden told her, backing out of the parking space. "And you know when anything goes in my planner it's an unbreakable date."

Kyla chuckled at the boy, waving cutely at Ashley as the couple pulled away. Ashley shook her head at his dorkiness and sighed before walking back into the school building.

She tried very hard not to look completely unenthused when Mr. Markham told her that the program was starting back up this afternoon.

He smiled wanly and promised her that he'd make it up with blow pops if she took on this one student and because Mr. Mark was just that awesome, she waved him off agreeing to do so instantaneously.

But after the long day at school she was a little tired and dodging Chris had been especially arduous that day and she didn't want to spend what was left of it helping some struggling freshman get a grip on the Pythagorean theorem and she was hungry and –

"Hi," Spencer said shyly, tucking some hair behind her ear and keeping her eyes on her desk.

What was she saying again?

"Thirsty…" Ashley mumbled, staring at the girl.

"Huh?" Spencer asked her, confused and the brunette finally shook the cobwebs.

"I mean, I'm sorry. Hi," she said, crutching closer to where Spencer was sitting. "So…"

"So…" Spencer said as well.

"What are you doing here?"

"Are you in here too?"

They laughed, having spoken at the same time.

"Oh great. You two have met," Mr. Mark said, rushing into the room and gathering some things. "So…I'm supposed to stay in here with you, make sure you actually do the work but I've got some papers to grade. And I totally trust you Ashley so close the door and hit the lights when you're done. One hour minimum, guys." With that Mr. Markham walked briskly out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Ashley.

And Spencer.

Alone for an hour?

That could work.


	6. Beginnings

"I just don't get this," Spencer mumbled, erasing again.

After a rather awkward standing stare down, both girls shook themselves out of their respective reveries and finally got down to business.

As it were now, Ashley was trying to break down the basics of the sine, cosine, and tangent relationships of right triangles.

And Spencer…

Spencer wasn't getting it.

"You're getting it," Ashley tried to reassure her, sitting right next to the girl.

Spencer looked over at her, eyes disbelieving. "No I'm not."

"You're right. You're not," Ashley admitted ruefully, her face pretty comedic though so Spencer couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks a lot."

"Hey, I'm just agreeing with you," Ashley maintained.

"I know," Spencer said, propping her head up on her chin as she looked at Ashley for a moment. "Your eyes…"she mumbled out, barely aware that she was speaking.

"What about them?" Ashley asked her, her fingers playing with themselves as she grew a little anxious under Spencer's stare.

Spencer _was_ apparently unaware that she was speaking because she balked noticeably, sitting up straighter and looking down at her notebook to hide her blush. "They're um..." she cleared her throat, brushing away eraser shavings. "They're nice."

Ashley smiled feeling her cheeks grow warmer and looked at the other flushing girl, whose eyes were still focused on her nearly empty notebook pad. "Thanks. Your, um, eyes are nice too."

Spencer finally looked at her. "They're blue."

"I've noticed," Ashley told her.

"Yeah and blonde hair and blue eyes is some kind of genetic birth defect," Spencer stated, her tone very serious.

But Ashley had to burst out laughing at that.

"What?" she giggled, shoulders shaking uncontrollably. "Where'd you hear that?"

"The Discovery channel," Spencer answered, smiling slightly. "I'm totally serious. They said that it was the result of in-breeding and genetic mutation."

"Oh my God," Ashley somehow managed to get out, holding onto her sides because they were aching from laughing so hard.

"Stop laughing Ashley," Spencer said, a few giggles slipping out. "I'm being for real."

"I just don't believe that they'd say that," Ashley said, curbing her amusement…a little.

Spencer smiled fully, completely entranced with the way Ashley's nose was crinkled up, still chortling somewhat. "Look it up."

"Oh I'm gonna," the other girl said, wiping her eyes. "Trust me on that one."

"So, I guess this whole tutoring session was a bust," Spencer said with a sigh, tapping her pencil against the margin of her paper. "I still don't get right triangles."

"Maybe it's because you're genetically defective," Ashley deadpanned, laughing as Spencer's jaw dropped. "I'm sorry but you left yourself wide open for that one."

Spencer still looked cutely shocked before she grinned a little. "I did, didn't I?"

"Yep,"

Spencer just looked at the other girl, her stomach behaving wildly and if she didn't know any better she might have thought she was gonna hurl, but she didn't.

She really wanted to tell Ashley just how cute she looked right now. She really wanted to but she couldn't. After all, the girl was the only real friend she'd made at this school and losing her was just not an option.

Not yet.

Probably not ever.

Ashley grew quiet as Spencer's eyes stayed on her a little longer and more steadfastly than was necessary. "What?" she asked again, softly this time.

Spencer truly didn't have words…well, she had words but she didn't think blurting out 'You're beautiful' right at that moment would be either wise or beneficial. Instead she blinked and prayed for a miracle.

And wouldn't you know it, she got one.

A loud buzzing interrupted the moment and Spencer's hands shot to her thighs, slapping the pockets of her jeans loudly. "That's my phone."

Ashley rolled her eyes slightly, huffing in relief but then hating the device for stopping whatever it was Spencer was about to say.

"Hello?"

"_Hey buttface, are you done yet?"_

"Not exactly," Spencer replied, rolling her eyes and turning slightly away from Ashley.

"_Well too bad. I'm outside,"_

"_Glen_," she groaned, annoyed. She didn't want to leave just yet. "I'm still being tutored."

"_Yeah, yeah. Outside now or you can walk home."_

Click.

Spencer dejectedly pulled her phone away from her ear, turning back toward the brunette.

"Your ride's here?" Ashley asked, hoping against hope for an answer in the negative.

"Sadly, yes," Spencer answered, looking kind of glum as she started to pack up. Then something hit her. "Hey, how are you getting home?"

"Oh man," Ashley smacked her head. She'd forgotten to call home. "I'm not sure actually."

"Glen could drive you," Spencer quickly stated, almost a little too quickly. She'd flustered herself.

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked her, her eyes already knowing the answer.

"I'm positive."

--

"So what do you think the deal is with that Spencer girl?" Madison asked Courtney as she did her nails.

The boy was in her room, toying with the acoustic guitar Ashley'd given the girl for her birthday. "I don't think there is a deal, per se," he shrugged, not really giving it much thought. "Man, this thing is always out of tune."

"That's because you can't play for shit," she said, grinning as she crawled over to him.

"I'm getting better," he grinned, sensing her presence but keeping his eyes on the guitar. "Your confidence in my ability is remarkable."

"Oh, I am extremely confident in your abilities," she drawled out, eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Ahem."

Madison drew back from the boy, returning to sit on the dge of the bed. "Hey Marco," she said, quickly brushing some hair behind an ear.

The older boy's eyes narrowed from his position standing in the doorway. "Mom's got dinner done," he all but growled, sucking his teeth and then stalking away.

"Your brother scares the shit out of me,"

"Don't say shit,"

"But you just said–" the boy protested but was cut off with a quick kiss.

"Come on. Let's go say grace and get you fed."

--

"We're taking Ashley home," the blonde informed him, opening the back door for the other girl. She held onto Ashley's one crutch and let the girl use her as a human one as she sort of swung into the backseat.

"Well, hello to you too darling sister and no problem," Glen smarmily stated, making sure the girl got in alright. "Just give me directions."

Ashley closed her eyes once she was seated, murmuring something under her breath before securing her seatbelt. She looked a little paler than before.

"You okay?" Spencer asked her, noticing.

"I'm good," Ashley quickly reassured her, letting out a measured breath.

Spencer reached out a tentative hand and touched her arm, unknowingly settling the other girl. "Are you sure?"

Ashley smiled, all her anxieties gone. "I'm positive."

--

The ride from the school to Ashley's house was shorter than it seemed, but that could have been because the tension in the car was so thick one could cut it with a knife.

And it all stemmed from Glen's mindless babble about that Star Trek movie he'd just Netflixed and how it was way better than the crap he was forced to watch when he was little and how Captain Kirk was so badass and how ticked he was that someone like Spock could pull a Zoe Saldana…

BINGO!

Awkwardness.

Which brings us to the present.

"I mean, _hello_ he has pointy ears and a vampire's peak bowl haircut. If that is not a combination for weird I don't know what it. Plus, her hotness is like four-hundred times his hotness and not that I think guys are hot, I'm just saying that he has none, hence, she should totally be with me," he finished saying, looking through the rearview mirror at his silent contemplative audience. "You guys get what I'm saying right?"

Spencer shook all images of Zoe Saldana and her hotness out of her head. "What?" She looked over to Ashley. "What is he talking about?"

The brunette shrugged, her mind also somewhere else…like in a broom closet far far away, on a spaceship, with Zoe Saldana whispering for her to boldly go where no man has gone before…

"Why am I asking you two anyway? You're probably all hung up on George Clooney and that boy from the Twilight movies," he grumbled, making a turn.

"It frightens me that you're referencing Twilight," Spencer deadpanned and Ashley snickered.

"Me too," Glen said, shaking his head.

"And George Clooney is old," she added, scrunching up her nose.

"I bet Ashley digs him," Glen said, looking at the girl when they were stopped at a light.

Ashley turned red, feeling Spencer's eyes on her momentarily. "He's uh, not really my type."

"Am I your type?" he asked her suddenly, flashing her a rather nice smile as he turned all the way around.

Spencer gulped audibly, not wanting to know but at the same time really needing to.

Ashley flashed Spencer a smirk momentarily before stating that she heard somewhere that blonde hair and blue eyes were some kind of birth defect.

Check and mate Ashley.

Check and mate.

--

"Here, come on, I gotcha," Spencer said, holding Ashley up as the girl tried to balance herself upon getting out of the car.

She handed her the other crutch and soon she and the brunette were easing up the walkway to Ashley's house.

"Sorry about Glen," Spencer said, hands in her jeans pockets. "He was kind of dropped on his head when he was a baby…repeatedly."

Ashley nodded, playing along. "That explains so much."

"It really does."

"So…" Ashley trailed off, having reached her front door. "I'm home."

"Yes," Spencer nodded, thinking of how much this vaguely reminded her of a scene from a movie – _The Nutty Professor, maybe_ – "Yes, you are home."

"Thanks for the ride," Ashley said, also being awkward. "I'd uh, better go in," she added, nodding her head in the direction of the door.

"Yeah," Spencer said, huffing a little laugh. "Yeah, you should go…inside, I mean."

"Yeah," Ashley mumbled, turning toward the door a little and Spencer took that as her cue to walk away. She literally rolled her eyes at how much of a fool she must've made of herself.

I mean, Ashley clearly was ready to go and there she was standing there like some kind of retarded parrot, repeating every word that came out of the girl's mouth.

Ashley, for her part, was taking her time unlocking the door wondering if she should push her luck or just let it go and live to do it another day. "Hey Spencer," she called out, acting on instinct momentarily.

"Yeah," Spencer spun around quickly, eyes questioning.

"I'll uh, see you at school tomorrow," she stuttered out. That was not what she intended to say.

But Spencer smiled and all feelings of ineptitude just slipped away. "You will _definitely_ see me at school tomorrow."

With that Ashley finally opened her door, crutching into the house feeling much lighter.

And Spencer…

Spencer _skipped_ back to the car.

--

"So, how'd you get home?" Kyla asked her, once they'd eaten dinner and were all tucked away in their respective corners in the house.

Ashley, lying on her bed and doing homework, looked up to the girl, startled. "Huh?"

Kyla smirked, leaning against the door jamb. "Dad asked you who dropped you off and you said 'a girl from school'. Who was the girl?"

Ashley turned red, much like she did at dinner when asked. "Just Spencer."

Kyla's smirk remained firmly in place. "Oh, the new girl?" she asked, still feigning ignorance, walking over to the girl's bed.

"Mmm hmm," Ashley asked, choosing the moment to get back into her book.

"She's cute, huh?" Kyla asked, plopping down on Ashley's bed lazily, making it bounce.

"What?" Ashley squeaked out, dropping the book.

"Spencer." Kyla smiled. "I said, 'she's cool, huh?'"

"Oh," the brunette mumbled, relieved. She didn't really know why she'd gotten so on edge.

"Well…" Kyla prompted.

"Well what?" Ashley had gotten so thrown off she'd forgotten the question.

"Is she cool or…I'm assuming you talked to the girl about something other than school work," Kyla continued.

Ashley smiled a secret smile, a certain conversation about eyes coming to the forefront of her mind. "Yeah," she said, still smiling. "She's pretty cool."

"Okay, then she can hang out with us some time," Kyla hurriedly said, jumping up before Ashley could get a chance to object. "I'm calling Aiden right now and we can kind of like, you know, double."

Ashley's eyes were wide as she just stared after Kyla, the other girl dashing out of the room quickly, trying to bite back a smile.

--

So how _obvious_ is Spencer?

Let's see she's as obvious as:

a. Teenage girls having babies fathered by men – well, duh.

b. The study that found a sex/pregnancy link – shocking.

c. Alcohol ads promoting drinking – you don't say.

d. All of the above.

The answer: d.

At least according to Jordan.

It was kind of ridiculous how she still tried to go around, pretending to be interested in boys when it was a certainty that Ellen DeGeneres was her idol – and his too, kind of.

Portia de Rossi was all kinds of hot in his opinion.

But still, even though she was _obvious_ and so freaking gay it really didn't make any sense, the girl held herself back.

For reasons he'd yet to comprehend, but given a little time, he'd figure it out.

For now, he'd just play out his part as observant yet entirely obnoxious younger brother and hopefully that would be enough to get her to–

"Come out already, Spencer!" the boy yelled, thumping on the bathroom door.

He heard something hit the floor and snickered a bit, knowing he'd probably scared her in more ways than one.

Finally the bathroom door cracked open and she walked out, steam spilling out into the hallway behind her.

"Well at least you finally learned how to knock," she said, taking in his Batman pajamas. If the kids at school only knew.

"Nah, you just learned to finally lock the door," he deadpanned, smiling obnoxiously at her. "Go beat your mug elsewhere," he said, jerking a thumb behind him and shoving her out of the way.

"Don't take forever," she yelled behind him. "I wanna get to school early," she finished somewhat quieter, smiling to herself.

--

"How do I look?" Ashley asked her suddenly, sitting in the backseat of Aiden's car.

Aiden was still bopping to the music and Kyla looked back at her cousin for a moment. "You look great, now quit fretting."

"I'm not fretting," Ashley shot back, fretting.

She'd woken up that morning completely rattled and changed her outfit some fifteen times before finally deciding that if she didn't decide soon she'd have to go to school naked.

Then there was her hair that she'd straightened and decided to wear down for a change which she now was regretting because she'd forgotten momentarily how un-straight it gets in the humidity.

"Hang on a sec," Aiden said, letting the car cruise to a halt in its parking space. "I love this song."

Kyla smiled at her guy before glancing back at Ashley who was worriedly biting her lip, looking out into the sea of faces. She was glad Aiden didn't pay attention to things sometimes because he'd definitely would have said something about Ashley's very un-Ash-like behavior.

Finally the "crew" hopped out of his cruiser, joining the rest of the teenage angst on the quad.

Aiden made a beeline for the rest of the jocks, letterman jackets and denim galore, with pretty girls standing around, surrounding them like vultures.

Kyla hopped on over to Madison and the rest of the girls and happily got to chatting away about lip gloss and hairspray.

And Ashley?

Ashley stood stock still, searching the crowd for a pair of blue eyes and not finding them.

"Guess who?" she heard whispered in her ear and she smiled immediately knowing who it was.

She pulled Jordan's hands away from her eyes, slowly turning around to face the boy. "Hello Jordan."

He scrunched his face at her. "Why so formal?"

"Well, what am I supposed to say?"

Jordan grinned cheekily. "Sup foo'?"

Ashley snorted, shaking her head. "Where's your sister?"

"Behind you, gawking," he answered, pointing in the blonde's direction.

Ashley peeked over her shoulder at Spencer just in time to see the girl wipe the look off her face and replace it with a deep blush. "Thanks a lot Jordan," she murmured, pushing her hair back.

"No problem," he replied, waving his fingers at the girls. "Toodle loo."

"Ugh," Spencer grumbled after the boy tousled her hair before taking off. She glared after him before turning her attention back to Ashley who was just now facing her. "Hey."

"Hey," Ashley said just as quietly, smiling cutely.

"Um…okay, I don't know how to say this without sounding like an idiot…"

Ashley's heart started beating triple time. "Just say it."

"You…um…well, you have legs," Spencer blurted out then smacked herself in the face – literally. "I mean, you have like, two of them."

Ashley grinned stupidly at her. "It's my prosthesis," she explained, chuckling a little. "I wear it for sports and stuff."

"Right," Spencer said, loudly, nodding. "Of course you do. Right. I mean, yeah, it's not like I thought you sprouted a leg or something. …And I'm gonna stop talking now."

Ashley giggled again, Spencer jumping up another notch in the people she like category. "But you were doing such a good job," she teased.

"Glad you approve,"

"Oh she does," Kyla jumped in smoothly. "Trust me. So has Ashley told you yet?" the girl asked her, dragging Aiden behind her.

"Told me what?" Spencer asked, looking to Ashley as the brunette was doing a fabulous job trying to roast her cousin with a glare.

"That you're coming to the pier with us tomorrow night?" Kyla continued on, ignoring Ashley.

"I am?" Spencer asked.

"She is?" Aiden questioned, getting a little excited.

"You are," Kyla told her.

"Sweet," Aiden said, bumping shoulders with the blonde girl. "It's been forever since Ash came with us. What'd you say to get her to come Spencer?"

Spencer looked to Ashley for answers, which were not forthcoming.

She'd been blindsided as much as the other girl.

"I'm…not sure, actually,"

"Well, whatever. It's gonna be awesome," Aiden continued to go on, rattling about the pier and the things that happen there as he walked with Spencer to their homeroom class.

Kyla turned to Ashley who may or may not be twitching. She wasn't exactly sure. "Don't–"

"What the hell, Kyla?" Ashley nearly shrieked, which was remarkable considering she was _whispering_.

"Oh come on. Don't tell me you're not elated about the prospect of spending time with your good _friend_ Spencer,"

Ashley smiled without trying to and Kyla merely smirked.

"That's what I thought," Kyla stated audaciously. "C'mon, let's go to homeroom."

"Okay," the other girl followed, clutching her cane tightly, still trying to figure out her cousin's angle.

--

"You Adrienne?" Glen asked, straddling the chair in front of the boy.

Aiden looked up from his texting. "Aiden."

"Basketball team right?"

"That's right," the boy stated, sitting up a little straighter. Was this guy hitting on him?

"Well then allow me to introduce myself. Glen Carlin, 6-2, shooting guard," the blonde boy said, extending his hand.

Aiden smirked. "Tryouts are Friday."

"I'm not trying to kiss up idiot. I'm just introducing myself to members of the team. Seeing as I'm gonna be playing with you,"

"You sound a little sure of yourself,"

"I'm not. I'm just good," Glen said, not intending to be cocky. It was just fact.

"Nice. But, hey, you really want in with the team you should come down to the pier tomorrow night. Everyone's gonna be there so…"

"I gotcha. Thanks for the heads up," Glen said, turning back around when the history teacher finally got organized enough to start teaching.

And it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


	7. Missed Signals

Ashley was running late, as was usual, to her class but the added benefit of not having to be anywhere on time was not having to be anywhere _near_ on time.

So…she slowly walked down the hallway, taking the scenic route through the school to her Calculus class.

And maybe it was one of those fated things or maybe she just had an incredible sense of timing but what happened next could have very well been the event that set this whole plan in action, although at the time, no one would have even noticed it.

She barely heard it, but walking past the auditorium she distinctly heard the piano keys being toyed on. Up and down the scale the notes went and then suddenly, and almost mid-scale, the notes turned into a song.

A pop song.

_You stand in the line just to hit a new low_

_You're faking a smile with the coffee to go_

_You tell me your life's been way off line_

_You're falling to pieces every time_

_And I don't need no carryin' on_

She peeked into the room, quietly ducking inside and slowly making her way to the stage where a mop of blonde hair was well and truly getting into the music he was playing, especially when he ramped it up to the chorus.

_Because you had a bad day_

_You're taking one down_

_You sing a sad song just to turn it around_

_You say you don't know_

_You tell me don't lie_

_You work at a smile and you go for a ride_

_You had a bad day_

_The camera don't lie_

_You're coming back down and you really don't mind_

_You had a bad day_

_You had a bad day_

She started applauding then and Jordan's eyes popped open, shock then embarrassment washing over his features. He jumped up from the piano bench, sending it crashing to the floor in his haste to make an escape.

"Aw, why'd you stop?" she pouted, alarmed by his behavior. "That was awesome."

He smiled for a moment, forgetting himself but he quickly shook that off. "You didn't see that," he told her, funny Jordan on vacation.

"What?" Ashley asked, perplexed. "I believe I totally did see it," she teased, grinning a little.

Jordan grabbed his book bag, fully prepared to storm off. He stopped mid-stomp, back still to the girl. "Was I really okay?"

"Jordan," Ashley scoffed, incredulous. "You were better than okay. Great. Terrific even. Where'd you learn to play?"

"I didn't," Jordan answered shortly, turning around. "I mean, I just…play."

"Wow,"

"Yeah," Jordan said, uncomfortable.

"You know," she started, moving towards the boy. "You should think about performing in the Fall Musical."

Jordan laughed outright at that, no other response for him to that really. "I think I'll pass. And forget about what you saw here," he tried to stand firm, but who was he kidding, this was Ashley Davies. "I mean, please keep it a secret? Don't even tell…just don't tell anyone. I'll make Spencer buy you stuff and hang out with you more," he pleaded, almost rolling his eyes at the grin that broke out on her face.

Man, were gay girls easy to read.

Ashley snorted, accepting the offer but not for that reason. "Can I ask you one thing though?"

Jordan nodded. "He went to Jared."

Ashley's brows knitted. "What?"

"Jared's? The jewelry store? Those commercials?" Ashley looked at him blankly. "Never mind. What did you want to ask me?"

"Why don't you want me to tell anyone?"

Jordan looked pained for a moment, troubled more than she could ever know. But just like that he's back to his regular self, precocious grin and dimples galore. "I'm one of the middle children. I _have_ to have issues."

--

"Romeo and Juliet were stupid, yo. I'm not killing myself for no chick. Feel me, bro?" George Hanson held out his fist and one of the other nameless jocks pounded it, apparently in agreement.

Miss Thompson stroked her goatee, pressing her lips together. "Well thank you for your…colorful observation George. Would anyone else like to share their _opinions_?"

"Even though I don't agree with the delivery, I do agree with what was said," Kyla offered. "It's such an over exaggeration. I mean, we're all teenagers here and I seriously can't see any of us doing that for anyone."

Spencer kept her eyes on Ashley's back. This class, a combination senior and junior literature class, was turning out to be one of her favorites.

Miss Thompson nodded her head at Kyla, signaling the receipt of her comment and Kyla then chucked a piece of paper back to Spencer, which the girl caught easily.

And this was why it was one of her favorites.

_Romeo and Juliet were stupid. I'd just run away – Ash_

Spencer smiled, scribbling away on her reply and then slipping the note to Aiden who passed it on.

Ashley unfolded the piece of paper and grinned, feeling her cheeks turn warm. _If only there were someone worth running away for – Spence_

"Going to the pier Friday?" Chris interrupted her musings, turning around and rapping his knuckles on her desk. He looked really nervous asking her and it was really endearing but damn it, she just didn't like the boy.

"Kyla's dragging me, yes," she answered, hoping he'd take the hint.

"Sweet," he said, eyes getting a little brighter. "Maybe you'll save me a dance?"

Ashley cast a glance over her shoulder, nearly balking as she saw Spencer engaged in what looked like a very private conversation with Brody Griffin – the school's running back. Her stomach swirled a little at the sight and she turned back to Chris, tight smile in place.

"How about a couple of dances?"

--

"Madison!" Kyla yelled, trying to catch up to the girl.

She'd been trying all day it seemed.

"Hey chica," Madison said, closing her locker door. "What's up?"

"I need to talk to you about something," Kyla stated breathlessly, eyes conveying her sincerity. "Something important."

"Aye Dios mio," Madison gasped, grasping the girl's arm and pulling her closer. "Are you pregnant?"

"What?" Kyla squealed, backing away. "No."

"Good," Madison stated, relieved. "Because I would have had to kick your ass and I don't pride myself on being a child beater."

"Anyway," Kyla started, choosing to skirt by that odd comment. "It's not about me. It's about Ashley. Have you noticed anything weird about her lately?"

"Is Ashley pregnant?" Madison again jumped a gun.

"God. No Madison. Are _you_ pregnant?"

"Hell no and don't even play like that," Madison said, affronted.

"Look, I think I've figured something out about Ashley and…well, you're her oldest friend next to me and I don't want you to freak or anything but…" Kyla had Madison hanging on every word but she couldn't say it out loud, not quite yet. So, instead, she motioned for Madison to lean forward, whispering what she'd been suspecting for some time into Madison's ear.

The Latina's eyes widened imperceptibly, shock not even an appropriate descriptor.

"It's true," Kyla nodded. "I do."

--

Aiden took out his notebook, looking at the text he's stared at time and time again.

_The worst thing is holding on to someone who doesn't want to be held on to_.

It's virtually the story of his life and while he had Kyla and he had friends, the one thing he longed for the most stayed elusive and that was the way he figured it always would be.

--

"Hey girl," Chelsea said, scooting in next to Ashley who was atypically quiet this lunch period. Something was definitely bothering the girl.

Ashley smiled by rote, even though it was genuine. Chelsea was one of her dearest friends. The one who stood up for her each and every time an opposing team wanted to slow pitch Ashley to give her a pity base.

According to Chelsea, Ashley could outplay anyone without the use of any of her limbs on any day because she had just that much heart.

So, in Ashley's book, Chelsea was pretty damn great.

"Hey Chels. Where've you been?"

"Around. Miss Thompson's still giving me hell for what we did to her house this summer. I mean, it was only shaving cream. Lord knows she needed it for that mustache of hers," Chelsea grumbled, stealing a French fry. "Not to mention her back."

"Be nice Lewis," Ashley chided and Chelsea grinned, not even mildly chagrined.

"Okay. But only because you asked nicely Saint Ashley. So…are you gonna tell me why you're being all brooding and pensive or am I going to have to tickle it out of you?" The girl reached a finger into Ashley's ribs and the brunette instantly giggled, ticklish beyond belief.

"No!" she shouted, a little louder than was necessary – the quick and confusing looks from people at surrounding tables told her so. "Do_ not_ tickle me."

"Then what's going on then, girl? Boy troubles…"

Ashley sat up a little straighter and Chelsea figured she'd hit the nail on the head. "Let me guess: Chris is all hot and heavy enamored with you again. I swear that boy is so predictable. He starts off every year fawning after you and then after a while he just jumps on some blonde bimbo that'd been riding his cock to begin with."

"Nice visual there Chels,"

"You know it's true. And every year you feed me some crap about why you haven't taken the boy up on his offer. Well, this is senior year Ashley so…I need the truth this time around," Chelsea told her. She was teasing really but sobered up pretty quickly when Ashley's face turned from contemplative to just plain pained. "Hey," Chelsea started softly, reaching a hand to the other girl's arm. "What's wrong?"

Ashley looked up at her friend, seriously conflicted. She swallowed thickly, not even thinking she had a voice to speak with. "Have you ever…have you ever, um…"

"Yeah?" Chelsea quietly prompted.

Ashley wasn't even sure what she was gonna say but she quickly shook it away, swallowing down all of those…feelings and plastering on a slight smile. "Nothing," she said quickly, exhaling deeply.

Chelsea looked at her a little while longer before deciding to let it go. After all, Ashley was one of her closest friends and if the girl really did have a problem with something, she'd come to her…when she was ready. Or, at least, she hoped she would.

--

Chelsea was walking with Ashley to dump their trays when she was backed into by some blonde boy with a curly fro.

"Whoa, sorry Mama. Didn't see you there," Glen said, smiling briefly before attempting to walk away.

Attempt being the operative word. Chelsea looked down to her brand new limited edition all white Michael Jordan 23rd anniversary gym shoes.

Only now the white leather had a very noticeable scuff mark across the top of it.

"Hell nah. Ain't no way," the girl started, louder than was acceptable for a crowded, loud, lunchroom.

"What's wrong?" Ashley asked her, dumping her tray and looking at the girl oddly.

"This fool done stepped on my J's," Chelsea all but snarled, glaring at the boy.

"Who you calling a fool?" Glen asked, instantly offended.

"Uh…you," Chelsea shot back, swinging her neck. She nodded toward her shoe, pointing her toe outward so that he could inspect his damage.

Glen rolled his eyes. "Jeez. It's only a shoe. Get over it."

"Only a shoe?" she repeated quietly, quirking a brow. "_Only_ a shoe? So I guess by your logic the Taj Mahal is only a building."

"Well, when you put it that way…yes," Glen stated, keeping up with the feisty girl.

By now there little confrontation had caused quite a commotion, the traffic in the cafeteria slowing down and the throngs of students gradually enclosing around them, making a makeshift ring.

"Chelsea's throwing down with the Carlin kid," Aiden told their table, getting up with the rest of the guys as they went to be spectators too.

Spencer, overhearing from a few tables over got up as well, making her way to the center of the circle, standing just across from Ashley.

"Guys," Ashley tried to intervene, stepping up a little and leaning heavily on her cane. In a minute they'd surely get the attention of one of the teachers and if she broke it up right now, no one would have to bear the burden of detention. Plus, she saw the same look on her friend's face that got Chelsea ejected from many a game.

Chelsea scoffed, stepping toward the boy. "You must not know who you're talking to,"

Bolstered by having so many guys around him, Glen stuck his chest out. "Oh I think I do."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," he continued. "Some psycho chick who can't accept an apology."

"Oh, that's it," Chelsea said, bringing her fists up and turning them toward one another, wrist upward. She banged them together twice, quickly and then stood back, looking smugly at Glen.

The crowd oooh'd.

"Did you just say 'fuck you' to me in Friends language?" Glen asked, slowly, face turning red.

"Did you not catch it the first time? Maybe I should slow it down for you." She brought her fists up again, only getting out one bang before Glen leapt at her, being held back by one of the guys.

"You're lucky you're a girl," he bit out, ears red.

"You're lucky the season's about to start," Chelsea shot back, rolling her eyes at him. She didn't want to miss any playing time this year unless it was because of incidents that happened on the field.

And because they went to the lamest and not at all tough school in history that was about as much 'fighting' there'd be that year.

--

Spencer arrived to the tutoring session so early she beat Mr. Markham.

"Hey," he greeted her enthusiastically. "Someone's an eager beaver," he said, putting down his folders. He stopped suddenly. "Wow, did I just say 'eager beaver'?"

Spencer nodded at him ruefully, concealing a grin. "Afraid so."

"Well, we'll just keep that to ourselves then," he said, nodding once in the affirmative.

"Keep what to ourselves?" Ashley asked, making it to the session in record time as well.

"I was talking to _Spencer_, thank you very much," Mr. Mark said, moving his desk chair to in front of his desk before sitting on it. "I meant to ask you girls how the first tutoring session went."

Ashley walked over to her seat next to Spencer, sitting down carefully. "It went fine."

"It was good," Spencer added, nodding slowly. Ashley hadn't met her eyes yet.

Mr. Markham noticed the tension between the two girls and like the completely sensitive teacher he was he excused himself for the restroom letting them air it out.

They were quiet for a full minute before Ashley pulled out her notebook. "So, when we last left off you were working on right triangles."

"Right," Spencer said, pulling out her notes.

For the next minute or so they worked diligently on angles and formulas and tangents and adjacent but then Spencer made an error and Ashley corrected it, lightly placing her hand on the other girl's to keep her from writing.

"That one is 25 degrees," Ashley said, eyes focused on the triangle on the paper.

Spencer's brain short-circuited or something because all she could think about was how there was no way it was 25 degrees because she felt like she was burning up and Ashley was so close and she smelled nice like coconut and just clean things and really she could work on being more articulate in her thought processes because 'clean things' was just ridiculous but if she really wanted to – I mean, really wanted to – she could just lean over and…and…

Her lips were perilously close to the girl's face and when Ashley finally noticed that she wasn't moving – writing, breathing – she finally turned toward her, catching Spencer off-guard. So off-guard that the blonde didn't have time to fix her 'I want to kiss you until you can't breathe' face.

"Spencer…" she whispered, barely making a sound and the blue eyes in front of her that always showed as clear as the ocean or a bright summer's day darkened considerably, turning almost the color of midnight and just when –

"How are we coming along?" Mr. Mark asked, walking briskly back into the room. He looked down at the two flushed girls who broke away from each other as soon as his voice registered, picking up Spencer's notebook. He glanced at the girls' hands which were, probably unbeknownst to them, still intertwined.

"Looks like things are progressing quite nicely."

--

"Jacks!" Spencer squealed, holding her hands up to protect her face from the spray of applesauce. She was at home now, performing one of the many duties she, as the only woman in the house right now, had to.

But feeding Jackson tonight was not going to be an easy task.

He grinned a gummy grin at her and all her frustration just melted away and she leaned down to smooch a chubby cheek. Jackson squealed again, getting three of his fingers in his mouth this time, slobbering away.

Baby drool did suit him.

"Did you know you were the cutest baby in the world?" she asked him quietly, peering into his face.

Jackson looked at her questioningly, his blue eyes curious and his little tuft of blonde hair sticking up slightly.

He looked like the baby off of _The Incredibles _only, you know, minus the spontaneous combustion.

"Well, you are," she informed him, using a wet wipe to clean off his face and hands. She pulled the snap-on table off of his high chair and scooted closer to the little boy, leaning in conspiratorially.

"I guess I can talk to you about it, seeing as you won't be telling anyone. Plus, I've been dying to tell someone," she said, voice growing excited. "I'm going to the pier tomorrow night…with Ashley. Or, yeah, I think I'm going with Ashley. I'm not sure actually." Her face scrunched up here, thinking it over. "Well, whatever the case I'm so excited and nervous and…and…gah, Jacks she's so…she just…ugh."

Not being able to verbalize these things was really starting to get to her.

Jackson didn't mind though. He thought spit bubbles were cool so Spencer squeezing her cheeks trying to make words was a riot.

"But I don't think she likes me," she continued glumly, pouting a little bit. "I mean, I know that that thing that happened or didn't happen or almost happened in tutoring…well, I thought she was gonna…but, nah. She likes that Chris boy or something and I don't want to be the teenage lesbian freak." She gasped, finally having said it out loud.

"You didn't hear that," she told the baby and he just giggled again, blissfully unaware. "You'd still love with wouldn't you Jacks, even if I was…even if I was, right?"

Jackson gurgled happily, hitting his tiny wet fists together.

She smiled again at him, lifting him out of the chair and standing him up on her lap. "What do you think Jacks?" she whispered. "You think she likes me?"

"Aaaiaahahah!" Jackson let loose another squeal, reaching for her blonde hair.

That could have been a yes.

--

**The Next Day**

"C'mon Ashley. We're gonna be late," Kyla called out to the girl. She reinforced the ties on her bikini and walked out of her bedroom, beach towel in hand.

She went to her cousin's door, opening it without thinking or caring.

There Ashley sat, wearing jeans and a tank top, not ready.

"Why aren't you dressed?" Kyla asked her, more than a little perplexed. All day all Ashley could talk about was the pier and who was going to be there and the certain exclusion of a blonde-haired girl's name did not slip her notice.

"I'm not going," Ashley stated petulantly, throwing her body backwards onto her bed. Some really old insecurities had worked themselves to the forefront of her mind and only once she'd gotten the actual swimsuit on did she realize the mistake she'd made in accepting this invitation.

Kyla sat down next to the girl on the bed. "Yes you are."

"I'm not. I'm not going to the beach to be stared at like some legless freak," Ashley grumbled, eyes on the ceiling. She didn't want Sp– people…she didn't want people to see her stump.

"No one's gonna stare at you. We all know about your leg Ashley and we _never_ make it a big deal. What's this really about, huh? 'Cause you've gone to the pier before with us and all of these people have seen you in a swimsuit so unless there's something different about–" Kyla stopped herself her, realizing exactly what was going on. "And if _anyone_ does have a problem with it then maybe they're not a decent enough person for you to…hang with. You know what I'm saying?"

Ashley nodded, eyes still trained on her ceiling.

"Well, I'm not gonna force you to go or anything but…come on. It's Friday and we're going to the pier. Wear your suit under your clothes and when or if you feel comfortable enough, just lose the top layer, 'kay?" Kyla tugged on the girl's arm, Ashley reluctantly allowing herself to be pulled into a sitting position. "Now, put the lower lip away."

Ashley sucked in her lower lip.

Kyla grinned goofily. "Turn that frown upside down."

Ashley tried to bite back the smile. "You are so stupid."

Kyla laughed outright. "And you are so making me late. Hurry up."

--

"Wait up!" Jordan yelled, racing out of the house in his swim trunks. He breathlessly reached the car, tugging on the handle. "Were you guys leaving me?"

"That was kind of the point yeah," Glen said, peering intently at the boy. "Where do you think you're going?"

Jordan gave him a look as he climbed over Spencer to get into the backseat. "The pier, idiot."

Glen grabbed the boy's trunks before he could sit down properly. "I don't think so."

"You can't go to the pier," Spencer told him, laughing slightly.

"Why not?" Jordan asked them, looking peeved.

"You're an underclassmen. This thing is only for upperclassmen. Got it?" Glen informed him, that needing to be the only explanation.

"I was invited," Jordan said, trying to shrug off the older boy's grip.

"By who?" Spencer asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Jordan wanted to smack her. He was only being a poser for her ass after all. "None of your business."

"See, that stuff right there is one of the reasons why you aren't going," Glen said, stalling the car. "Out."

"But-" Jordan tried to protest, but Glen just unlocked the car doors.

"Whatever," Jordan grumbled dejectedly, feeling a little more than rejected. "Don't ask me to cover for your asses when you come home wasted."

--

The party was in full swing when they finally got there.

Aiden was practically dancing around in his seat, evidence of the true party animal he was.

Ashley was riding up front this time – it was easier for her to get out that way – and as they neared everyone the butterflies in her stomach multiplied tenfold and she chewed yet another nail.

Down to two now.

"Madison and Court are here already," Aiden unnecessarily announced, the two people in question waving at them from the beach. "Let's just go set up next to them, yeah?" he asked, shifting the car into park.

Kyla nodded, gathering her things and Ashley sat stark still, eyes on a car that just pulled up too.

--

"Who are you looking for?" Glen asked her, looking over and seeing her search the crowd frantically. "Waldo?"

"No one," she answered quickly, not one-hundred percent aware that she had been looking.

"Come on. And keep your distance. I'm trying to impress the team and I don't need your spazzy ass doing character damage,"

"I'm pretty sure you covered that one yourself this afternoon with Chelsea," she deadpanned, swinging out of the car. She had a swimsuit on underneath what she was wearing but her one-piece wouldn't even hold up to the things these girls were wearing. Boobs and butts were everywhere and the music had everybody more or less throbbing like one in sync gyrating mass.

"It's official, Spencer," she murmured, looking down at her cargo shorts and tank combo and starting to peel the items off. "We're not in Kansas anymore."

--

Ashley saw the girl get out, slowly making her way to the beach where everyone was at and she still didn't move.

"You need help getting out of the car?" Aiden asked her, appearing quite suddenly at the passenger door.

She shook her head and finally pushed the door open, maneuvering her cane and prosthetic leg out onto the parking lot pavement.

Kyla was stood nearby, quietly talking into her phone – an important discussion it looked like.

"C'mon Ash. We'll do it like old times," he said. Aiden, always the gentleman, leaned down anyway and lifted Ashley into his arms, the girl squealing immediately.

"Put me down Aiden!" she shrieked laughingly, officially making her entrance to the party an unforgettable one.

"Are you sure about that command Miss Davies?" he asked her, surprisingly having already made it to the water's edge.

"Okay, no. Don't put me down," she amended, clinging tighter to him.

He laughed a little and carried her back to where there friends were, Kyla grinning at the interaction as she walked up. "Loosened up yet, cous?"

"Pretty loose," Ashley nodded.

"Good," Kyla grinned, grasping the girl by the shoulders and turning her around. "Stay that way. Hey Spencer."


	8. There's Award and There's Awkwarder

**A/N: _God._ This was just so hard to do. I _really _hate this story. It's like my kryptonite, I swear. But, like always, reviews are, at least in my opinion, very crucial to this writing process. Cuz I seriously think this chapter sucks hard but I cranked out something just to try to get myself motivated again. If I can't go any further than this I think I might delete this one. Wow, that's drastic. No yeah, I probably will. No need in leaving an unfinished fic out to die, lol. Thanks for reading and for the supportive words. Oh, and someone said I should look into getting a BETA. So here I am, looking into it.**

**Thanks for reading and the continued support you guys. It is not underappreciated.**

**MGMK**

**--**

"Hi," Spencer somehow managed, nearly getting knocked over by her brother.

"Glen Carlin m'lady," he drawled, grabbing Kyla's hand and almost bringing it to his lips before Aiden snatched it away.

"Dude!"

"Chill man," Glen chuckled, grinning. "I'm just playing with ya. I know that's your girl. Hey Ashley," he continued, subtly checking her out. She was a hottie, that much was true. "Thanks for tutoring this one," he jerked a thumb in Spencer's direction. "Mom dropped her on the head last year and she hasn't been able to spell her last name since."

Spencer elbowed Glen before turning an impressive shade of red. "Shut up."

Ashley grinned at the girl, following her eyes at they dropped to the ground.

And Glen Carlin looked on completely oblivious, but meticulously bringing those two closer together. "So, hey, you guys mind taking her off my hands for a while. There are some mighty fine ladies out here I'd like to get to know on a deeper level if you know what I mean. Plus, here comes Sister Soulja and I need to recoup before we set it off again," he said, taking off before anyone could object.

"Yeah that's right Buckeye, you'd better run," Chelsea loudly stated, entering the fold. "Can you believe that boy? I swear he's two tick marks short of being officially retarded."

"Chels," Aiden reprimanded…mildly. Chelsea was somewhat intimidating.

"What?"

"He's Spencer's brother," the boy murmured, nodding subtly in Spencer's direction.

But the blonde couldn't have cared less, blind to the world and deaf for that matter too because that Ashley girl was all kinds of cute and seriously, could she get any more awkward around her.

It finally registered that there was a hand waving in front of her face and she blushed so hard her ears turned red. "I'm sorry?"

"Yeah, that's what I was saying," Chelsea offered with a slight smile. "Didn't mean to rag on your brother but it must have sucked knowing you guys came from the same vagina."

"Chelsea," Kyla said, eyes wide and the other girl just shrugged.

"Just saying,"

"No she's right," Spencer interjected, finally finding some footing. "In fact, I'm only able to sleep at night because of the knowledge that his host family will soon someday come and take him back to his home planet."

Well, I said she found _some_ footing, not _good _footing.

But Ashley snorted…_snorted_…before clasping a hand over her mouth, making a few giggles escape and Spencer's big blue eyes got all bigger and bluer and Kyla really was feeling the whole "two's company, three's a crowd, and after that it's an orgy" so she not so subtly grabbed Aiden and Chelsea and drug them away, leaving the two budding love birds to…well…bud.

---

Courtney watched the girl's interaction with mildly disguised interest.

First Ashley spoke.

"So, hey…you're originally from Ohio?"

Then Spencer.

"Yeah, Midwest implant that's me."

Ashley.

"Oh."

Spencer.

"Yeah."

Courtney, "Holy shit."

A swift kick to his shin stopped any more words from tripping out of his mouth and his eyes shot to glare at Madison who was smiling and staring rather pointedly at him.

"Do you have something to share dearest?" she asked him, her voice clipped.

The boy subtly reached down to rub his leg. "No, but can I talk to you…over there…alone?"

"Sure," she said, shooting up from the table and walking away, leaving Spencer and Ashley to interact as horribly as hot oil and water.

Once they were out of earshot, Courtney rounded on the girl. "What did you kick me for?"

"Because you were going to ruin everything by opening your big mouth,"

"One: I do not have a big mouth. That would be you and my do you know how to use it," he stated slowly and her cheeks warmed considerably. "But two: what the hell is going on Madison?"

"Well…" she started not sure if she should let him in on the thing. He was, after all, friends with Aiden and that boy couldn't be trusted with a secret to save his life. He once shouted to the world that she was wearing a training bra. It wasn't the most newsy of secrets but really, dude, just shut your trap. "Okay, look at them," she said, nodding subtly at the duo they'd just left behind.

Courtney flicked his hair around and looked at the girls. Spencer was tracing a pattern on the table and Ashley was watching her finger with interest.

He turned back to her, brows raised, "What am I looking for?"

"Aye dios mio. Men," she muttered, moving closer and gesturing him to listen. "You see the way they're just sitting there carefully avoiding each other's gaze and the moment they make eye contact they both flush like they've been caught watching porn or something-"

"Hey," the boy barked, incredulous. "That was _one_ time,"

"Okay, not about you this time. And, you ever notice, that even with their strange interaction Ashley never openly objects to hanging out with Spencer,"

"Yes, yes. But what does this have to do with *gasp*. No way,"

"Yes way."

"So Ashley's–"

"Yep,"

"Does she know she's–"

"Nope,"

"But she likes–"

"Yes,"

"Is Spencer–"

"We dunno,"

"Okay. Now let me get this straight," the boy said, then erupted in snickers. "Ha, ha. Man. Anyway. Ashley's gay and she digs Spencer only she doesn't know she digs Spencer so she's all unknowingly awkwardly gay around the girl which may or may not be throwing an assumed gay Spencer off-signal?"

"Very efficient way to round up that problem there Court,"

"Well, I do try," he beamed. "So what're we going to do?"

"We're going to let nature run its course,"

--

Kyla squealed a little as Ashley finally held eye contact with Spencer for more than two seconds.

"Oh my God," she muttered, wringing her hands together as she watched a safe – yet reachable if need be – distance away. "They are so lady and the tramp."

"Who's a tramp?" Aiden suddenly asked her. Sneaky, that guy.

Kyla jumped about a foot in the air. "I'm seriously considering tying a bell around your neck."

"Just make sure it's a neutral color," he shot back, far from annoyed. He ran a hand through his beach wet hair. "So, seriously, who's a tramp?"

"No one's a tramp," she stated quickly, grabbing his hand smoothly. "I just suddenly was feeling very nostalgic and in the mood for some foot long spaghetti."

Aiden looked at her blankly and even though he wasn't the brightest he was fairly certain that the girl had just experienced at least a ten point drop in IQ points. "Uh…huh," she stated slowly, smiling uncertainly. "Let's go get you something to eat."

--

"It's pretty nice out tonight, huh?" Spencer asked, gesturing to the sky. "Is it always like this here?"

Ashley nodded, picked some imaginary hair off of her arm. "Almost all summer."

"I like it," Spencer said, brining her gaze back down to Ashley and grinning shyly.

"I like it," Ashley dumbly repeated, feeling her face grow warm. "Too."

"Wanna go for a swim?"

The randomness and impending doom that question brought on pretty much sent Ashley into a temporary paralysis.

"A…swim?"

Spencer smiled, unknowingly putting the other girl at ease. "Yeah, swimming. I've never been in an ocean and I'm pretty sure you have and well, yeah, let's go. Yeah?"

Her eyes were literally sparkling in the nightlight and Ashley really didn't get why that was so captivating.

"We can…" she started haltingly, cutting herself short when Spencer suddenly stood from their position sitting in the sand. She looked up at her wearily.

Spencer's smile waned just a moment before she crouched back down. "Do you need me to help you up?" she whispered, already looping an arm around Ashley's mid-section. Before the brunette could protest, Spencer was pulling her up in awkward yet firm heave, and Ashley stood precariously in the sand.

Spencer handed her her cane and spoke quietly again. "Are you okay?"

"I, uh…" Should she tell her? "It's just…I can't…" Well, now she had to tell her because Spencer was looking confused and looking at her like she was crazy. "I can't go in the water with my prostheses on."

She sighed after delivering that news and Ashley really didn't know why. She wasn't sure why this mattered so much or why her stomach was swirling around like a washing machine on the spin cycle and she definitely wasn't sure why she couldn't meet Spencer's eyes even if someone told her they'd give her a million dollars for doing just that.

"Oh…" Spencer said, trailing off uneasily. "Okay well, take it off."

Ashley's head shot up and her eyes sought out Spencer's. "What?"

"I mean, yeah that totally just sounded very pre-pubescent male and everything but I mean just take off your prostheses. We can just leave it here in the sand and I doubt anyone will take it. At least I hope they won't. Honestly, what could they do with a prosthetic leg? Not that it's not a good one or anything. I mean, I'd definitely steal it. Wait. I didn't mean that–"

Ashley shook her head slowly, smiling. "Spencer…"

"Yes?"

"Stop talking."

Spencer drew her lips shut and kept her eyes on Ashley, standing right in front of her.

Ashley unbuckled the button to her jeans, breathing deeply. Skillfully and carefully, she alternated hands easing the pants down her body.

A few of the guys around the beach stared, some harder than others.

They couldn't help it.

She was hot.

But Spencer kept her eyes on the other girl.

"I wasn't sure if…I'm just overly anxious I guess. Every time someone new sees my…my…"

"Your…"

"My non-leg. Sorry I got a little stumped right there," Ashley said, daring the other girl to laugh, a smile in her eyes and voice.

"I'm not going to laugh. I'm not. But seriously, give me some more credit. I don't care about that Ashley. You're cool and leg or no leg I don't think that's gonna change."

Ashley smiled. "Thank you. Just, history's told me to ease into the whole check out my stump thing. It freaks people out."

"You think you having half a leg would freak me out?"

Ashley shrugged.

"Me?"

"Maybe…"

"The sister sandwiched between Glen, the alien, and Jordan a.k.a. Trailer Park spawn."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Yeah,"

"Sorry,"

"Sheesh,"

Ashley's face screwed up. "Did you just turn the tables on me?"

"I may have,"

"Well done,"

"I thought so,"

"Okay. Enough of this. You offered me a swim?"

"That was last year it seems,"

"Offer still stand?"

Spencer playfully rolled her eyes. "I guess so. Lean on me."

--

After Aiden took off, presumably to find his jock buddies, Kyla found herself suddenly alone on the beach and Spencer and Ashley watching had taken a back seat considering how the girls had suddenly disappeared on her.

But she didn't stay that way for long.

"What are you doing over here by your lonesome?" Courtney asked, plopping down next to her in the sand. "It'snot safe to be out her by yourself you know," he kidded, bumping her shoulder.

"Cut it out Court," she laughed, nudging him back.

"Careful, you might get me all riled up,"

"Maybe I want to," Kyla drawled out turning into him somewhat sexually, seriously playing with the other boy but the way he paled considerably he probably didn't know that.

But Courtney was not one to be outdone. "Maybe I want you too," he murmured out, licking his lips afterward. She held his gaze and held her game face for a little longer than was acceptable before blinking and breaking out into a smile.

She snickered candidly, punching him in the arm. "Oh, Court I love you. You're like the only guy who gets me."

And Courtney smiled back wishing she meant the other kind of love and lamenting the fact that he'd never get to have her.

--

And so it came to pass that Spencer and Ashley had made it to the water.

Ashley, through strength and conditioning, had remarkably learned how to swim, without the use of a second foot and the technique – which was very much akin to doggy paddling – was very effective. So much so that she was swimming circles around Spencer.

The blonde emerged from underneath the waves, tossing her hair back and running her hands over her face so she could see. She could just make out the brunette blur that was Ashley, treading ominously nearby.

"You didn't tell me the water would be freezing," she muttered out, her teeth chattering theatrically but really not.

"That's because it's not," Ashley stated, effortlessly swimming the backstroke in a perfect figure eight.

"Can you stop doing that? I feel like a shark's prey or something," Spencer said, then the smile dropped off. "Oh God."

"What?" Ashley asked, picking up on the change of moods.

"We're…we're in an ocean."

"Yeah…"

"There might be…sharks," Spencer kind of squeaked the last word out.

Ashley moved closer to her, wanting to laugh but deciding against it because Spencer had quite suddenly slipped into a panic attack. "There aren't though and even if there were I'd protect you," she stated gallantly, still approaching the now stiff girl.

"You would?" Spencer whispered, still peering out into the abyss.

"Yeah," Ashley whispered back, finally reaching the blonde. She noticed that Spencer shivered and she wondered for the first time whether or not the girl was actually cold. She moved closer still, the toes of her one leg still planted firmly on the spongy ocean under bed. Spencer instinctually back further into the girl and Ashley's breathing hitched when he stump came in contact with the back of the other girl's thigh. "Sorry," she mumbled out.

Spencer spun around, smiling magnificently. "It's cool," she breathed out, her eyes sparkling.

And Ashley couldn't look away, her own smile softening into something almost shy. "Spencer," she whispered, not knowing why she even started speaking in the first place.

"Hey, Ashley! Been looking for you all over,"

And like clockwork, boys always ruin the perfect moments.

Ashley jumped, the spell broken. "Hey…" What was his name? "Chris?"

The boy really was an Adonis as he stood there, the water glistening on his body as the nightlight reflected off of it. He made his way closer to her. "So…I didn't think you were coming out tonight."

"Kyla dragged me out of the house," Ashley quickly explained, wanting to get away from the boy and get back to Spencer, but when she turned her head back in search of the girl, she'd found the blonde had inexplicably taken off.

"Well, I'm glad she persuaded you. I've missed hanging out with you, you know?"

'When did we hang out before?' she thought, quirking an eyebrow as she got back to him. His smile was crooked and she suspected he'd been drinking. "Have you really?" she asked him, unknowingly flirting back.

He nodded; much in the way a little could would when asked whether or not they wanted some candy. "Come on and let me get you a drink."

She followed him, looking again for her new blonde friend who was suddenly nowhere to be found.

--

Kyla saw the blonde angrily stomping in the sand, marching away from the crowds, her arms hugging herself.

That was _not_ a good sign.

She rushed over to her, nearly taking a dive in her haste to catch up to the girl. "Spencer!"

The girl stopped and spun around, face falling but only barely once she'd realized who'd called her. "Hey, Kyla."

"Where you taking off to?"

"Oh, I was gonna sit in the car until Glen decided he wanted to go home,"

"Psh, that's boring," she dismissed, throwing her hand at the notion. "I thought you were hanging with Ash."

The blonde's face darkened just slightly before she recovered. "I was. We did. But now she's hanging out with Chris so…"

'God,' Kyla thought rolling her eyes. That boy just couldn't take a hint. "And you didn't want to be bored to tears no doubt," Kyla offered, hoping to break Spencer's mood and get her to stay, because well if anybody deserved some happy times it was Ashley. And Spencer and her would be sickeningly cute she believed. "But stay, have a drink or something. Maybe we can ditch the boys and have some private girl talk time. We just have to go pry that guy away from Ashley."

But that would be a lot easier said than done because when they made it to the keg, Spencer and Kyla were accosted by the vision of Chris and Ashley entangled in a very deep lip lock.


	9. And They Say

**Chapter 9: And They Say**

Spencer was having one of those moments.

You know…where the world starts spinning but it's also moving in slow-motion and all sounds lips to the background except for the ones you usually barely notice.

Her breathing, the steady yet frantic beating of her heart; all of those sounds were amplified and every beat just reminded her of how very alive she was, how very real this happening really was.

Yeah.

One of _those_ moments.

"…the _hell_?" Kyla wondered aloud, barely able to wrap her head around it.

Ashley had never _ever_ shown any interest in Chris before.

But, then again, she's never shown an interest in girls before Spencer, so maybe she shouldn't rely so much on appearances.

"Ashley," Kyla finally said, authoritatively, marching up to the girl who'd obviously contracted viral amnesia.

She wasn't even sure you could do that.

"What in the world are you doing?"

The brunette finally pulled away from the guy, her eyes glassy and glazed over.

Ashley hiccupped one time, squinting to focus in on Kyla who could quite possibly have two heads.

She couldn't be sure.

"'Sup Ky…awesome..hic..party right?" the girl slurred out, leaning heavily on her human crutch.

"What the fuck you moron?" Kyla growled, marching over to the blonde boy and punching him in the arm, hard. "Did you get her drunk?"

"Ow," Chris mumbled, snickering a little. He pouted playfully and rubbed his am. "No," he answered, barely able to get the one word out. "She had one screwdriver. Two max," he assured her.

"Then you did get her drunk, ass,"

"Hey," Chris said, throwing an arm around the brunette's shoulders. "Ashley is a big girl alright? And she can do whatever she wants. And hang out with whoever she wants."

"_Whom_ever," she corrected snidely, rolling her eyes. "Fucking idiot."

By this time, Aiden had shown up, ready to throttle at the behest of his girlfriend (he was, among all things, a rabid dog when it came to defending his wome- woman. Woman), but Kyla just stood there boiling.

Spencer, still reeling from seeing her crush crushing on some jockstrap, finally brought her gaze to meet Ashley's and couldn't help feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.

Of course Ashley doesn't like her because Ashley doesn't like girls because she's straight and likes _boys_ with blonde hair and blue eyes. And while two out of three is good enough for Fall Out Boy, apparently that just doesn't cut it for Ashley.

"I'm out of here," she said, trying to catch the girl's glaze but Ashley's brown eyes just seemed to look right through her.

Kyla turned toward her, trying to do some damage control but in the end Spencer just shook out of her grasp, walking off toward some other crowds in search of her brother.

"Chris," Aiden cautioned, looking seriously torn. "You're my guy and all but if Kyla gives me the word you know I'm going to have to kick your ass."

Meanwhile, Madison had somehow found her way back to the group, sneakily moving so that she was right near Ashley.

"Dude," Chris slurred, motioning to a few of his – rather drunken – football buddies. "I'd like to see you try."

Kyla was beyond pissed now and he was going to hear about it. "You fucktard. You got my cousin plastered when you know she's on medication. She's practically a zombie now…"

And while Kyla ripped him a new one in earshot of anyone in the large circle that had gathered around the confrontation. Madison slowly but surely brought Miss Ashley back down to earth.

"You know she's gonna hate you now," she whispered darkly into the brunette's ear, and Ashley jumped, not expecting her or anyone that close.

"Who?" she whispered back, thinking Kyla was pretty pissed but would never hate her.

"Spencer."

And Ashley dropped right back into reality.

/

"Glen!" Spencer darn near shouted, glad to have located him so quickly.

She needed out of there and fast.

The boy jumped a good foot in the air before turning around and regarding his younger sibling with disdain.

Oh.

He was making out with some cheerleader under the pier.

"What?"

"I want to go home,"

He laughed at her, dismissing that notion. "We just got here. Come back in a few hours," he mumbled out, turning around to get reacquainted with Becki…no Vicki…no…well, he was sure it ended in an 'I'. She told him that before she told him about the tongue thing.

"Seriously Glen," she persisted, tugging on his arm. Her eyes were starting to water and she did _not_ want anyone to see her cry. "I need to go home…_now_."

He finally turned to really look at her and noting the wrinkled brow and red nose his brother instinct kicked in.

"Whose ass needs to be kicked?"

"No one," she weakly assured him. She didn't need a confrontation. She just needed her bed, and her iPod, and maybe some Ben & Jerry's.

Deciding to let it go for now, Glen bid…brunette chick #4 good night but not before she tattooed his tonsils with her tongue.

Gross.

/

**Later**

Ashley had totally come down from that high now.

After the sobering statement from Madison, Ashley rather quickly explicated herself from Chris, claiming a massive headache.

He wouldn't let her leave though without promising to meet up with him again sometime.

They all rode to the house in silence: Aiden drove with Kyla in the front passenger seat, and Ashley lay sprawled on the backseat, replaying the events of the evening and wondering how on earth she ended up virtually in Chris' lap.

It was kind of fuzzy but...

She remembered Spencer.

She remembered swimming with Spencer, and she remembered how anxious she was about Spencer seeing her lack of a limb.

How she thought it would freak the other girl out.

And when Spencer just smiled and basically told her not to worry she felt so relieved that it felt like she was floating.

But then...

Then she remembered that Spencer was a girl and it was just not okay for Ashley Davies to be interested in a girl.

She didn't have very good reasons for her reluctance to get involved with Spencer. In fact, most people would agree that her reasoning was absolute ludicrous.

But those people were lucky. Because those people weren't Ashley Davies. They didn't carry scarlet letters about them like a giant neon sign.

They didn't have to broadcast their personal pain to the entire world every time they stepped outside.

That's the problem with living in a small, tight-knit community such as the one she resided: everyone knew everything. So, she was the one that lived (accidental Harry Potter reference I swear), the one without a limb. She couldn't possibly add the one who likes girls to that list too.

That was a little more "otherness" than she could handle.

Ashley was already a two-strike social outcast.

She couldn't add the third.

So she freaked, no other way to explain it.

There she was, following Chris for drinks, and yet the only thing running across her mind was how well she and Spencer fit together.

Nope. Not gonna work.

/

"What happened?" Glen asked her as they both trudged up the walkway.

The boy was still not in the know after the abrupt (and forced) departure from the pier party.

"Did someone do something to you?" He tried asking again and she waved him off looking glum.

"I don't want to talk about it," Spencer said, opening the front entry door quickly...and promptly falling to the floor.

She really should start looking where she's going.

Jordan rolled over lazily, rubbing his eyes as he looked over his fallen sister.

She pushed herself up on her hands, swiveling to look, no, glare at him. "Why the hell are you sleeping right inside the front door?"

Jordan shook his head, waking up, and regarded her quietly. Should he or shouldn't he? That was the question.

"Well?" she prompted, still looking peeved.

Why not?

"Why the hell aren't I sleeping right inside the front door?" He asked back, being, well, Jordan.

Spencer just rolled her eyes, pushing herself to her feet and then marching angrily upstairs.

"What in the hell happened to that girl?" Glen wondered aloud, staring upstairs after the girl.

Jordan sent out a text and shrugged, clapping out the hallway light again and then snickering delightedly when Glen tripped as well.

/

Madison turned to her bed fellow regarding him silently.

"What are you thinking?" she asked Courtney as he was uncharacteristically pensive.

"Just trying to wrap my head around it I guess," he said, giving her a rueful smile.  
It was really weird how they're relationships had developed over the years. He and Madison were something like paternal figures over the rest of them. However that work itself out.

And now he was trying to figure out how Ashley, a girl who should have known was gay from day one to be honest when she unquestionably defended the durability and functionality of Birkenstocks, was all over Chris, a guy he had no real qualms with but knew she couldn't stand, especially when it was glaringly obvious that she was so into Spencer.

"Why do girls do that?" He asked Madison as the girl signaled a turn.

"Do what?"

"Like someone and then act like they don't?"

"I dunno," she shrugged it off. "And hey, all girls aren't like that."

"Oh yeah, my bad. Why do you, Kyla, Chelsea, and Ashley do that?"

She laughed at him, rolling her eyes a little. "Okay, okay. I get it. I really don't know. Maybe we just want to see if a guy's willing to go the distance. If he does bother then he's not just into your body you know. Maybe he really likes you."

Courtney stared at her blankly. "You do realize that men have gone to war over a woman. Do you seriously believe playing hard to get is going to get some guy to make grand proclamations of love?"

"Point taken. But it's nice to know he cares enough to try. Even if it's a front," she stated, looking over at him with a forlorn smile.

/

Spencer lied awake all night.

Every time she closed her eyes her imagination would just conjure up the image of Ashley and that _boy_ and she'd just turn over in bed again and stare out into the darkness.

She just felt so…so…dumb.

That's it, she felt dumb.

Because she'd spent the entire evening falling over and fawning over a girl who didn't even want her and now, well, now, she didn't even want her either.

In fact she kind of hated the annoyingly beautiful, unknowingly charming, nose-crinkling, gorgeous, smart, funny…wait, what was she saying?

Oh yeah.

She hates her.

"I really do," she grumbled, turning over just in time to greet the moment just before dawn. "I really, really do."

/

"Morning sleepyhead," Jason said kindly, looking over at Mark as he just started rousing.

"G'morning," Mark smiled slowly, relaxing back against the covers. He took in quickly the fact that Jason was still reading the paper, which meant two things. One, it was still early enough that the kids weren't awake yet and two, it was the weekend.

Usually Jason was showered, dressed, and had breakfast cooking during the week.

On Saturdays and Sundays they all made breakfast together.

"No stirrings this morning?" Mark asked through a yawn, moving his arm so that it rested across Jason.

"Not yet. I think they got in kind of late last night," Jason said, putting the business section down and moving on to Home & Garden. "Poor things."

"Should we wake them?" Mark asked, a mischievous look in his eye and Jason was just about to tell him no, but the man was already out of bed, rushing over to the radio.

/

_People who need people_

_Are the luckiest people in the world_

Finally Mark moved to answer his door that was close to being knocked to the floor.

Pulling it inward he was greeted by the very unhappy faces of his daughter and his niece.

"Good morning girls. Can I help you?"

"You're a riot Uncle Mark," Ashley quipped, leaning on her crutches.

"Seriously, Dad," Kyla grumped, hand on her hip. "You need a new hobby."

Mark smiled, reaching a hand out to tap her nose. "I have a hobby. It's called annoying teenage girls." He opened the door wider so the girls could see an apologetic looking Jason.

"Sorry hons. You know how he gets,"

"Whatever. I'm just excited to spend time with my family. Now…who's ready for breakfast?"

/

"Spencer?" Paula pushed open her daughter's bedroom door very quietly. "Spencer, are you awake?"

The girl lay asleep, buried under a mountain of covers. She had to be very hot under there but Paula smiled, knowing exactly what was going on.

Whenever her little girl got afraid or worried about something, when she was younger Paula would tell her to wrap up in blankets; create her very own personal cocoon. She told her that the blankets represented all her love for her and as long as she was in there she wouldn't get hurt.

She took comfort in knowing that nothing could harm her there, but then again, it also stifled her growth.

Paula wasn't sure which was better.

She moved about her only daughter's room, still somewhat packed from the move. A hodge-podge of belongings telling the story of a young girl who was at once tough (baseball gloves, hats, and jerseys) and also soft (ballet slippers and leotards). She was the product of being brought up with boys, but also the product of being the only girl Paula'd had so she made sure the girl was inundated with sugar and spice and everything nice.

"Mom?" Spencer questioned, groggily coming to her senses. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm checking in on you," Paula said, moving to sit next to her still reclining daughter. "I heard you went out last night."

Spencer rolled her eyes, picking through the line and discovering a) Glen can't keep his mouth shut and b) Jordan can't either. "Glen and I went to a party yes. But, in spite of what you may have heard, nothing bad happened. It's just…not my crowd."

Paula nodded carefully, reading her eyes. There was something else there but she decided to let it go for now. "Okay. Well, by some miracle I'm off today so…if you want to hang out…"

"Mom, are you serious?" Spencer could not resist giving her the fish-eye.

"Okay, yeah, no. I'm sleeping all day but I put some money in each of your accounts, and a little extra in yours so, go have at it sweetheart."

"Thanks Mom," Spencer squealed, throwing her arms around the woman. After last night, small favors were as big as winning the lottery. "Thanks a lot."

/

Mark snaked an arm around Jason as he brushed by, pulling him in rather quickly for a short kiss.

Kyla pushed her arms between them, effectively pushing them apart and sticking out her plate. "Bacon please?"

Mark chuckled and stacked a couple of more pieces on her plate with tongs. "I remember when we couldn't force her to eat."

"Only rice with sugar," Jason added, ruffling her hair. "She's been a strange one ever since."

"Oh, hardy har har," Kyla said, sitting back down next to a despondent Ashley.

The other brunette kept sticking her fork into her eggs. Stick. Twirl. Pull out. And repeat.

What fun.

"Are you okay honey?" Jason asks her, dropping a kiss onto the top of her head while rubbing her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm alright, uncle J," she said, still pushing her food around her plate.

"She's probably wondering what's going on with her boyfriend," Kyla said dismissively, not even bothering to look up as Ashley's eyes shot to her.

"You've got a boyfriend?" Jason asked excitedly, scooting his chair over. "Ooh, what's his name? What's he like?"

"Calm down, babe," Mark, the clear alpha in the relationship, said. "Ashley'll tell us when she's ready."

"There's nothing to tell," Ashley said, still glaring at Kyla. "I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh no?" Kyla finally looked up, raising a brow in Ashley's direction. "Then who was that boy you were all over last night?"

Jason, a little beside himself, squealed with glee, but stopped short when Ashley pushed away from the table roughly.

"Kyla, can I talk to you?"

"Maybe I don't want to talk to you,"

They could really act like siblings sometimes.

"Living room. Now," Ashley said, moving quickly on her crutches. "It's not a question."

Kyla sighed but followed obediently.

"Okay. What just happened?" Jason asked Mark, a bit afraid to move.

Mark just shook his head, still buttering his toast. "Women."

/

"Spencer," Glen said, entering the girl's bedroom without knocking.

The girl's head popped up from underneath her bed. "Jesus Glen. Learn to knock. What if I would've been naked?"

"Are you naked?" Glen asked her, smirking.

"Well…no,"

"Then shut up. Anyway, I need to ask you a favor. Watch the kids,"

"What? No. And that wasn't a question," she said, resuming her task.

"Come _on_. I need you watch them," he whioned, stepping further into her room. "And why the hell are you on the floor?"

"I can't find my phone and I don't care Glen. It's your weekend to baby-sit,"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You've somehow fallen under the perception that you have a choice in the matter. You don't,"

Spencer scoffed, springing back up after having checked the last pair of shoes.

"Here's the deal: I'm older, I have a date, and I'll make you smell my arm pit if you say no again,"

"I'm not do–"

"Okay," Glen said, moving forward. "You were warned."

A few minutes later, Jordan stepped into the room, holding baby Jackson on his hip. "Aww, look Jackie. Just like old times."

Glen, still chortling, pulled her face out of his pit and shoved away before she could hit him.

"There's more where that came from," he said, dodging the shoe she threw at him.

"Jerk!" Spencer yelled at his retreating form.

"Hey sis," Jordan offered in a surprisingly good mood. "Guess what?"

"What Jordan?" Spencer asked him, sighing wearily.

"I love you."

Spencer just shook her head. He surprised her a lot of the times but she was not expecting that.

"What?"

He walked further in, handing the youngest Carlin to her. "He needs his diaper changed."

And we're back.

/

"What on earth are you doing?" Ahsley hissed as soon as the other girl entered the room.

"What ever are you talking about?"

"Don't be stupid, okay? And, really, what was that in there? I mean, you know Chris is not my…my…"

"Boyfriend?" Kyla supplied, still on her tough love angle. Maybe she could be an asshole and make Ashley bring all those things that had been in the dark to light. "And why not Ashley? You obviously like him. I mean, you'd kind of have to since you were chewing his gum."

"I don't like Chris, okay? At. All," Ashley explained, frustrated because she knew Kyla knew this. "He was just…I was just…"

"What Ashley?" Kyla asked her, dropping the harshness out of her voice, noting her cousin was breaking down quickly.

Ashley hunched her shoulders, eyes tearing up just a little and then…

"_Hey, little girl  
I wanna be your boyfriend  
Sweet little girl  
I wanna be your boyfriend"_

Kyla rolled her eyes.

"You should answer that," Ashley stated slowly, shoulders sagging in relief. She slowly crutched away into the kitchen and Kyla snatched her cell out of her pocket furiously.

"Aiden, God, you have the worst timing ever,"

"Well, good morning to you too beautiful. What did I do, call you while you're in the can?"

She couldn't help giggling. "No. I was…never mind what I was doing. What do you want? I'm busy."

"Please. Nothing going on in your life is more important than me. Admit it,"

"You should really look into stand-up,"

Aiden laughed. "I have good news for you. Like, so good you'll want to run to my house and do un-ladylike things to me."

"You…shaved?"

"No way. I need my beard. It's an intimidation thing. No, this involves a certain brunette you live with and a new blonde on the block,"

"Ashley and Spencer?"

"Ding. Ding. Ding. I have…in my possession…at this moment…in my hand…a one Miss Spencer Carlin's phone."

"What? How?"

"I guess she left it and someone thought I knew her since we were talking to her so…yep, I have it,"

"Oh Aiden, I should kiss you. I mean, I will, but I…you know, maybe I'll kiss you in public."

"Be still my heart. So, are we hanging today Miss Kyla?"

"Yeah but let me make a quick phone call first."


	10. The Games We Play

**A/N:** Sorry. I'm sorry. *cringes* I know that I've been mean and neglectful to this story in particular but now I think I know what it is. It's not supposed to be very long and I've been trying to play out some aspects of the storyline that don't need to be. I will see this thing 'til the end though. I don't not finish fics. It's just not in me to do. So, with that being said. Here's a little something I've put together over the last couple of weeks. And do not kill me for the ending. It's a good one. You know it is *wink*.

Thanks for sticking with me and reading,

MGMK

**

* * *

**Spencer balanced Jackson on her hip, reaching out a hand to press the door bell.

She really was hoping Kyla wouldn't take too terribly long because, from the smell of things, Jackson was leaving a pretty hefty 'I love you, Spencer' in his diaper.

But all thoughts of poo and Jackson and Kyla flew out of her head when the door finally opened.

"Ashley."

/

**Just about an hour earlier…**

Kyla hung up with Aiden, a smug grin on her face as the plan rapidly unfolded in her mind.

She hurried into the kitchen, grabbing two boxes of cereal and, after a little nervous deliberation, dashed towards the basement to hid them in the nether recesses of the house.

"Dad!"

/

"Watch Jackson for a couple of minutes. I'm going to get my phone," Spencer said, opening the boy's door and disappearing just as quickly.

Jordan popped up, watching television upside-down no longer holding his interest. He swayed a little as the blood rushed back into his head. "Wait. What? No. I can't," he rushed out quickly, hurrying to catch up with her. She had already made it downstairs and was putting her shoes on.

"It's just for a few minutes," Spencer implored, ignoring him really.

"I can't. I'm gonna be busy," Jordan said, trying for anything but for some reason not being able to think that fast.

"Doing what?" she asked, brow furrowed in confusion. The boy was still in pajamas.

"Being negligent," he offered with a shrug. "Look, okay. What if something happens? What if something happens and Jackson gets hurt or worse. Who's mom going to blame, huh? Surely not her loveable, handsome, and oh so sexy little boy. Nope, all you. You'll be the black sheep."

"I do not have time for this," Spencer answered, rolling her eyes, annoyed that he'd held her up this long.

"Wait!" Jordan yelled again, moving in front of her as she attempted to leave again. "I…I…"

"What?"

"I'm a little teapot, short and stout," he said, almost cringing at the stupidity. He just needed to stall a little bit longer.

"Get out of my way," Spencer stated slowly, done with his shenanigans. Seriously, where did her parents get this kid?

"Aww, but Spencie," the younger boy said, sticking out his bottom lip. "Look at Jackie. He doesn't want you to leave him." Jordan swiftly moved past the girl, sneakily nudging forward a skyward facing Jackson.

The baby boy had his pacifier in his mouth but when he saw Spencer he grinned grandly – all gums – and stretched his chubby little baby arms out for her.

"Jacks, I'll be right back," Spencer pleaded, melting under his adorable gaze.

Jackson just clapped his hands, squealing and gurgling in anticipation.

"Ugh," Spencer groaned, picking the baby up regardless. "I hate you Jordan," she grumbled, stalking off to find and pack the boy's diaper bag.

Jordan laughed, watching her go. "It is just too easy sometimes." When she was gone he picked up his cell phone, dialing the numbers without looking. "She's heading your way. I stalled her as long as I could."

/

"What do you mean, 'we're out of them'?"

"Now Daddy," Kyla calmly stated, speaking very slowly. "I don't know how it's happened but there are no more boxes of Trix in the kitchen anywhere,"

Mark's eyes went wide with alarm. No. More. _Trix_.

"We have to go to the store," he rushed out, moving quickly to their bedroom.

Jason followed shortly after. "Calm down, honey. We can always get them tomorrow."

Kyla braced for it.

"Tomorrow?" Mark roared, past unbelieving. "We most certainly cannot wait until tomorrow for the most sensational breakfast food since toast. The multi-colored, fruit-flavored, 12-vitamin fortified cereal is a nutritious part of a healthy, balanced breakfast."

Now, Kyla was sure of a few things in this world. One, she was loved. Two, she was cute. And three, her dad would flip the freak out without his Trix cereal…nearby…in copious amounts.

"Or today," Jason relented, not really having a choice. He begrudgingly followed Mark upstairs to change, grumbling about having purchased at least three boxes of the cereal last week.

Kyla grabbed her cell phone, sending out a text.

Wouldn't be long now.

/

**Presently…**

Ashley stood there, perched on crutches and dumbfounded.

She had no idea why Spencer was on her doorstep, and it confused her further to see the little baby in her arms. "Um…"

"Where's Kyla?" Spencer asked, not really expecting to see Ashley or really caring to see her at the moment. No, she'd keep this interaction short. Besides, Kyla told her "Ashley was out or something".

"She's gone," Ashley answered, not really knowing what else to say. Spencer did look pretty though, standing there with no makeup, jeans and a hoodie. And there Ashley was still in her pajamas.

Pajamas!

Spencer's brow furrowed, taking in Ashley's look in rapid time. "She told me to meet her here."

"Um…for what?" Ashley said, tugging her robe a little more closed. Fruitless really. Spencer'd probably gotten a nice long look of her in her Scooby-Doo getup. The horror.

Ashley's phone rang before the blonde could answer and she rushed to retrieve it, glad for any distraction that took her out of direct view of Spencer Carlin.

"Hello,"

"_Hey Ash. It's me,"_

"Ky. Great. Hey, look. Spencer's here–"

"_I know. She's there for her phone. Could you go and grab it for me?"_

"Okay, sure. But, where is–"

"_Thanks, Ash. Going through a tunnel. Bye."_

"Hello?" Ashley looked at her phone, the call disconnected. "Kyla?"

"Is she…on her way back?" Spencer asked, feeling a load of discomfort.

"No," Ashley answered, staring at her phone. Something was toying in the back of her mind but it faded as soon as she tried to focus on it. "She said she had your phone and I'm supposed to give it to you."

"Oh," Spencer said, holding out her hand. "Well, give it to me."

"I don't have it,"

Spencer sighed. "I don't have time for games."

"No, I mean. She told me to get it but didn't tell me where and then we lost connection so…" Ashley trailed off, feeling uncomfortable under Spencer's constant gaze.

"So…call her back," Spencer offered, still trying to keep up her aloofness. This unsure Ashley though was much like the Ashley she was swooning over to begin with. But she was done with all of that, right?

"Right, of course," Ashley murmured, grabbing her phone and then forgetting the number it seemed. "Call?"

"Kyla," Spencer supplied, shaking her head and holding back a smile. Yeah, done with all of that.

_Right._

/

_We are family_

_I've got all my sisters with me_

Sister Sledge belted out the chorus and Aiden made yet another subconscious play for the phone.

"Try that again mijo and you'll draw back a nub," Madison warned, slapping his hand away.

"I can't help it," Aiden grumbled, rubbing his wrist. "This feels wrong. We're messing with their heads."

"Hardly," Kyla spoke up, sipping slowly from her drink.

They were all lying poolside, tanning the afternoon away while Ashley and Spencer were busy trying to get on the right track.

"We're just giving them little nudges in the right direction," she continued, placating the boy. "It's fate, okay?"

"I don't know," Aiden started, getting an ominous feeling in his gut. "Feels like we're playing with fire. Sooner or later, someone's gonna get burned."

/

"She's not answering," Ashley grumbled, tossing her cell aside.

"No big," Spencer tried to assure the other girl, finally relaxing enough to talk without a shred of venom. That could also be because of the way Jackson seemed so entertained with absolutely nothing at the moment too though. "I mean, she'll probably have left it in her room. We can just look for it there."

"Good idea. And I can call your phone so we can find it," Ashley brightened considerably, but it had nothing to do with the fact that Spencer was no longer glaring at her.

"I think I left it on vibrate," Spencer absently stated, playing pat-a-cake with Jackson. "Maybe we should both go look for it."

Ashley's eyebrows rose and she glanced over at Spencer, sure she'd heard wrong.

"In Kyla's room?"

"Yeah," Spencer rose, cradling Jackson. "Where is it?"

"Up the stairs," Ashley nodded toward the upper level. "Second door on the left."

Spencer nodded and started off, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. She hesitated a moment before facing the other girl, biting her lip lightly. "Um…will you…I mean, can you manage?"

Ashley's eyebrows tilted inward in confusion before she realized, yeah, duh…the crutches. "Oh, yes. Yes, I'll be fine. It'll take me a little longer but I'll see you up there."

"We'll be waiting," Spencer said, with a smile, turning quickly and tromping up the stairs toward Kyla's bedroom.

/

Jordan, alone at last, snuck into his mom's room, jumping quickly onto the internet.

"Alright," he enthused, spinning around on the stool once he'd realized she'd left it unlocked. "Is anybody there?" he called out into the home, expecting no answer in return. "If someone's here you'd better come get me! I'm about to watch porn! School teacher orgy porn!"

When the house remained quiet the young boy logged onto Yahoo Messenger and changed his status to: "At home chillin' – no 'rents and no sibs. Holla at ya BOY!"

That one was his favorite.

Immediately a chat window popped open: ACMillion.

_Hi._

Jordan looked over his shoulder again before responding.

_Hey Dad._

/

"I don't see it anywhere," Spencer said, tossing the pillow she'd thrown from the bed to the floor back onto the bed again.

She'd apologize for destroying Kyla's room later – although it was already a bit of a sty – but at the moment, her main priority was finding her phone. She was a teenager for crying out loud. Oh, and trying to breathe and be in the same proximity of one Miss Ashley Davies.

She was a _gay_ teenager for crying out loud.

Ashley giggled from her spot sitting in Kyla's loveseat and holding baby Jackson.

Spencer popped her head up from the other side of the bed comically, making Jackson crack up in kid laughter. "Is something funny?" the blonde questioned, raising a perfectly manicured brow in their direction.

"You kind of look like a Jack-in-the-box every time you pop up," Ashley said, smiling unwittingly.

"Well…" Spencer started, comeback dying on her tongue at the look in Ashley's eyes. She looked away, upset with herself for giving in so easily…again. "You could come down here and help me look."

"I offered," Ashley protested, tickling Jackson briefly. "But you got all worried about me falling over or something and made me sit down and hold the baby – whose name I do not know by the way – and have you ever seen yourself when you're adamant about something?"

"Can't say that I have," Spencer answered, thoroughly amused. "Am I scary or something?"

"Not scary but I definitely didn't want to cross you," Ashley told her, enjoying her finger being fisted by the baby.

Spencer smiled, looking at the two of them, "Jackson," she muttered out, barely aware that she had spoken.

The little boy in Ashley's lap squealed, delighted and Ashley was so caught up in him, she didn't catch that. "Am I supposed to say Michael or something?"

"No," Spencer giggled, just like the swooning girl she was. "His name is Jackson. He's my baby brother."

"Aww, that is so cute. As in Pollock?"

"Wow, yeah. Most people don't catch it," Spencer looked wholly marveled.

The tips of Ashley's ears turned pink as she fought off a blush. "I'm a fan of the impressionist movement."

"So were my parents," the blonde said, moving now to sit on the bed. "We're all named after impressionist artist, some more obscure than others."

The brunette looked at Spencer, at the way she was making herself comfortable in her own home. She wondered how it wasn't weird. But then again, almost every interaction she'd had with Spencer wasn't weird. Barring that one thing. "That's interesting," she said, watching the way Spencer's fingers clasped together.

"Can I ask you something Ashley?" the blonde suddenly blurted out, needing to know this one thing more than anything else. "And I want…I need you to be completely honest about it, okay?"

Ashley nodded, feeling her heart beating like a jackhammer in her throat. She couldn't speak if she tried. She was terrified that Spencer might say something that would make it impossible for her to keep living in the shadows.

"Last night...at the pier. Why were you making out with Chris? I mean, do you like him?"

Ashley almost choked on her own spit, which, ew, but still, she almost did. "No. No. I _really_ don't like Chris," Asley answered the only way she knew how: honestly. But then something else occurred to her. "Why? Do you like Chris?"

Spencer's nose scrunched in disgust. "Ew, no. No way. I don't. No."

Ashley had to laugh at how persistent the girl was in refuting that one. "Okay, so no Chris."

"No Chris."

"Well, who do you like then?" Ashley asked her and stopped momentarily because what? What? Did she really just do that?

Spencer, on her end, was wondering how exactly they even got here. Just this morning she was hating Ashley Davies and now here she was in the girl's house talking about crushes. A mere two feet away Ashley was sitting there thinking some of the same things, except for the hating of course.

"Um, well…" Spencer's fingers gripped the bedspread desperately as she tried to think of a way out of this one. She clearly had two options: tell the truth or lie.

Oh, but Ashley was right there. And she was being so sweet and she looked so vulnerable just then and Spencer was sure she wanted her to tell her…to just say it. But, then again, Ashley could be looking like that because of the disaster area that had become Jackson's diaper.

"You don't have to tell me," Ashley declared haltingly, as if Spencer didn't know this. Still, she looked hopeful that the girl would. That she'd trust her. And most importantly that she didn't say someone like Aiden.

Ugh.

"I know," Spencer whispered, throat closing in a little. She nodded and shifted ever closer to the loveseat. "I know that, but…okay, if I tell you I don't want you to freak out or anything, okay? I mean, I don't want you to go running and shouting it from rooftops."

"Why would I?" Ashley asked, looking confused. Spencer was speaking a different language.

Spencer took a few quick breaths, her stomach turning violently but she was finally going to get it out. At least part of it.

"The person that I like…is a girl," she finally said, breathing out on the last word making the word come out much lighter than anticipated.

She completely expected Ashley to flip out and scurry away or crutch away however fast she could with her disability, leabing Spencer to wallow in her pitiful existence of the gayest single girl on the planet.

Instead Ashley's face just looked frozen in some sort of shocked (but not really) stupor. "Huh?"

Spencer almost smiled, and if she wasn't completely blanking due to nerves she would have, because that "Huh?" was as about as classic as Homer Simpson's "D'oh."

"I'm gay Ashley," Spencer clarified, the tremors in her stomach dissolving into something far less violent. It was like on the rinse cycle now.

"Which girl?"

"Excuse me?"

"Which girl do you like?" Ashley asked, imploring now. She didn't know what was happening but her voice was very high and her heart was beating very fast and she couldn't quite catch her breath and maybe she was having a panic attack. But Spencer's eyes were so blue and she's so pretty and right now her cheeks were just a little pink and puffed out because she was confused and Ashley could not think because HOLY SHIT, SPENCE LIKES GIRLS. "Who is it?"

"Are you okay?" Spencer asked her, worried because Ashley maybe wasn't breathing. Or maybe it was breathing so fast it looked like she wasn't breathing. She couldn't exactly tell.

Ashley carefully placed Jackson on the floor, letting the baby crawl about in Kyla's messy but totally childproof room. She made all these weird hand gestures, shrugging her shoulders and such in a strange kind of body-signal Morse code. "Who…who is it?"

"Seriously?" Spencer questioned, wondering if she should go there. If Ashley was acting like this now she might die if Spencer divulged anymore. "Are you sure? I don't want you to freak out."

Ashley closed her eyes, teetering on the edge of her chair. That's not an answer. "Not freaking out Spencer," she got her mouth to say, barely making words. "I promise I'm not. So, please, just tell me who it is."

Spencer looked over at her, holding her gaze for long moments before shrugging.

"You."


	11. Was It All A Dream

"You told me you weren't going to freak out," Spencer screeched, leaning over the other girl while kneeling.

Ashley's cobwebs finally cleared and she once again became aware of her surroundings, or rather , of the girl surrounding her. Spencer was leaning over her and she could feel her head on the girl's knee. Spencer's hands were hovering above her, seemingly not knowing what to do and every other moment Spencer would bring one up to her face to nibble on a nail.

"I didn't," Ashley contended, sitting up slowly, the shift freeing Spencer's legs.

"Oh, yeah, right. My bad. You _fainted_," Spencer sardonically corrected and not in the sarcastic way like "Nuh uh, you didn't freak" but in that way that was like "Running away and freaking would be cooler but you elected to drop dead instead."

Ashley finally propped herself up and saw the blonde pacing about the bedroom floor, looking worried…still.

"I'm…sorry?" Ashley said, not entirely sure if or why she was apologizing but Spencer looked as though she needed a hug.

Spencer stopped mid-pace and looked at her. "I thought I killed you."

"You didn't," the brunette assured her, now sitting on the floor. She could see Jackson had busied himself playing with Kyla's vintage – meaning from the 90's – CD collection. "I'm still very much alive."

Spencer finally stopped her pacing and stood there, arms crossed over her chest.

"C'mere," Ashley said, waving the girl to the floor and Spencer literally dropped to her knees beside her.

"What?" Spencer questioned feeling her heart rate pick up to heart attack intensity.

'Okay,' Ashley thought, stomach clenching as Spencer scooted ever closer to her. 'This is either the real thing or I'm about to throw up.'

"My turn," she whispered before closing her eyes and leaning in.

She stopped when Spencer grabbed her shoulders, shaking her back and forth like a rag doll.

Her eyes popped open and she saw blue ones staring right back at her – anxious blue ones. "Are you okay?"

"Spencer?" Ashley questioned, prying the girl's hands off her shoulders. "What the hell'd you do that for?"

"Your eyes closed…" Spencer dumbly started, not knowing what to read from Ashley's tone.

"So?"

"So…your eyes closed and less than a minute ago, you fainted. It was not a too far stretched logical deduction that you had done so again and so that's what I assumed had taken place. Give a girl a break," she finished, getting all of that out on one breath.

Ashley's lips quirked up and then her smile broke free. She tilted her head, regarding the girl silently. "You're kind of adorable, did you know that?"

Spencer, though, was still in mid-freak. "And then I was thinking to myself, I said 'Self, maybe the shocking revelation of my lesbianism is the source of these supposed black-outs.' And then I was thinking that I'd never be able to tell anyone I was gay because they'd die or something and I'd be the world's first serial-come-out-of-the-closet-killer…." She, again, finished in one breath, then, "What?"

Ashley smiled again, rolling her eyes and taking Spencer's hands in her own, entirely surprised to find that she wasn't as nervous as before. "I said, 'you're adorable'," she repeated, feeling her face heat up.

Spencer's eyes widened and she coughed a little before speaking. "I am?" she squeaked out, her face turning redder than red.

Ashley nodded, tugging on the other girl's hands a little. "Now, like I was trying to say before you tried to shake the stuffing out of me," the brunette grinned, pulling her in some more and moving her mouth to Spencer's ear, this time feeling the nerves in full affect. "I like you too."

She pulled back slowly, needing to see the blonde's face but as soon as she came into view Spencer dove forward, awkwardly pressing their lips together.

* * *

"Call 'em again," Madison directed, gesturing to Kyla.

The other girl redialed Ashley's cell number.

Nothing.

"It's still going to voice mail," Kyla informed her, looking a tad-worried. What if Spencer ripped Ashley a new one and now her fragile cousin/sister is at home all emo and gloomy.

"Maybe they're hooking up," Madison offered, not really believing it though. Spencer seemed pretty pissed the other night at the pier. And Ashley could be a little stubborn at times.

"Maybe we should go back, yeah?" she asked her, biting her lip.

Madison nodded and called the boys over so they could leave.

* * *

"Wow," Spencer breathed out, holding onto the carpeted floor. Their positions had reversed since that first tentative touch and now Ashley was above her, pressed against her as they kissed over and over.

Ashley's hands were on either side of her head, grasping the floor as well, neither girl entirely sure what to do with their hands as the kiss grew deeper.

Ashley pulled back slightly, licking her lips. Her eyes were still closed but she knew she was still pretty close to Spencer. The girl's breath tickled her cheek as she exhaled slowly.

She was draped halfway on Spencer's side, her bad leg straddled over the blonde's and for a moment she felt ashamed about it, almost moving off of her, but Spencer pre-empted her retreat, finally using her hands for a different purpose.

The brunette fought back a moan, feeling Spencer's hands glide from her shoulders down her back to rest at the base of it, not daring to go any lower. She opened her eyes to find the other girl regarding her intently, studying her face for any discomfort or fear.

"You feel really good," Spencer whispered, swallowing thickly afterward.

Ashley smiled slightly, holding herself up with one hand while the other moved to uncertainly brush against Spencer's face. "You're a good kisser," she whispered back, feeling the strings in her stomach pull when Spencer smiled brightly.

"Why, thank you," the blonde retorted, before being blinded.

WHACK!

"Ow!" the girl yelled, springing upward and catching Ashley's forehead on the way up, knocking furiously.

"Ow!" they both yelled this time, Ashley falling back, unbalanced and Spencer crashing back down on the floor on her back.

She held her eye with one hand and looked over to a gumming – gummy grinning – Jackson, still holding the weapon – an empty CD case – in his chubby little fingers.

"Jacks, that hurt," she groaned out, finally sitting up. She looked over at Ashley who was also, on her back, quietly laughing madly.

Spencer smirked before crawling over to the other girl, positioned over her much like she was just a few moments ago. "What's so funny?" she asked, squinting.

Ashley opened her eyes and they went from amused to serious in just a few seconds. "You're bleeding."

Spencer brought her hand up and touched near her eye where it was throbbing the most and felt a little wetness there. "Ouch," she winced, barely touching the light scratch .

Ashley reached over for her crutches, standing them up on Kyla's bed and then gesturing for Spencer to help her up. "Let's go fix your face."

* * *

"So, when can we meet up?" Jordan typed, sitting really close to the television screen.

"I don't think that would be a good idea. Your family may not understand," the reply came back, quicker than expected.

Jordan's shoulders dropped in dejection and he sighed heavily at the expected response. "That's okay. One day, right?"

"Yeah…." the other person typed. "One day."

Jordan piped right up though, not letting it get him too down. "So, let me tell you about this song I've written."

"Okay."

* * *

Jackson was propped up on the bathroom floor, surrounded by blankets and pillows and what-nots or, you know, confined was probably a better description.

He was sitting down, distracted by his fingers and hands and then a flurry of movement caught his attention. Spencer, seated on the edge of the tub sat with her hands in her lap, while Ashley busied herself with the first aid kit, propped on her lap while she sat on the closed toilet.

"C'mere," she murmured, waving Spencer forward again and the girl sat up straighter, placing her hands on Ashley's knees, one close to where Ashley's leg ended prematurely. The brunette immediately tensed up but she swallowed down the unease and swooped down toward Spencer's face with the moist cotton ball.

"This may sting a little bi–"

Spencer turned away.

Ashley's eyes turned amused and she snorted out a little laugh before Spencer begrudgingly met her eyes again.

"I may have a very low tolerance for pain," Spencer ruefully admitted, holding her head steady for a second longer this time before turning away, making Ashley catch her ear. "Very low."

"Okay, well…" Ashley said, voice still amused but concerned still laced the undertones. "Close your eyes."

Spencer breathed out, locking gazes with Ashley one more time before letting her eyes slide shut. Seconds later she felt Ashley's warm lips on her cheek, then her chin, then her nose.

Tiny little kisses were pressed all over her face and before she knew what had happened, she felt Ashley's fingers pressing a Tigger band-aid over her right eye. "All done," Ashley said, pulling back slowly and Spencer's eyes opened.

"Thanks," she whispered, blushing a little when Ashley's lips brushed against the covered wound.

"No problem."

"You know what?"

"What?" Ashley asked her with a smile.

"I really think we should change Jacks' diaper. I mean, it's really getting hard to ignore it now."

And that's what they were doing when Kyla finally found them.

* * *

"What happened to you?"

Spencer walked…scratched that…she floated into the living room, almost forgetting to close the entry door behind her.

She barely recognized young Jordan sitting there on the couch, well lying really, watching television/channel surfing.

"Nothing," she breathed, handing off the baby without really realizing it.

Jordan sat up, giving baby Jackson a kiss on the head as he held on tightly. "You sure?"

"Positive," she said, taking the stairs two-at-a time as she went to her bedroom.

Once there she closed the door, pressing her back tightly up against the solid touch, needing something solid to ground her for a moment.

When Kyla came home, the girl seemed shocked that they were still breathing, let alone exchanging pleasantries as they changed a toxic diaper.

But that's exactly what she found, and she and Ashley did nothing to tip their hands. At least, she didn't think so. Sure, they stared at each other and spoke softly and smiled an awful lot at each other. But, that didn't mean anything.

Did it?


	12. Stirring

**A/N: ***holds up hands* Please don't spear me. I know I promised an update like last century but I was working on it. Okay, I'm lying, the more I put it off the less I was 'geeked' about writing it and so on and so forth, but I finally sat down, read some stuff, and (really) drank some amp and here's what happened. Hopefully this'll get it going again. I know I can never say it enough but thanks for reading this or any of my other stuff. You are the best things for sure, don't ever forget that dear readers. Enjoy or not as always.

Peace and Love.

-MGMK

P.S. Happy Pre-Valentine's Day!

* * *

"What happened to you?"

Spencer walked – scratch that – she floated into the living room, almost forgetting to close the entry door behind her.

She barely recognized young Jordan sitting there on the couch, well lying really, watching television/channel surfing.

"Nothing," she breathed, handing off the baby without really realizing it.

Jordan sat up, giving baby Jackson a kiss on the head as he held on tightly. "You sure?"

"Positive," she said, taking the stairs two-at-a time as she went to her bedroom.

Once there she closed the door, pressing her back tightly up against the solid touch, needing something solid to ground her for a moment.

***o*O*o***

When Kyla came home, the girl seemed shocked that they were still breathing, let alone exchanging pleasantries as they changed a toxic diaper.

But that's exactly what she found, and she and Ashley did nothing to tip their hands. At least, she didn't think so. Sure, they stared at each other and spoke softly and smiled an awful lot at each other. But, that didn't mean anything.

Did it?

"Ashley?"

Her cousin shifted on the sofa, turning toward her with a soft smile. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

Ashley's brow furrowed. "I'm fine," Ashley grinned, turning back to the television and Kyla knew something was up now.

Who smiles while watching _Disappeared_?

"Ashley, are you sure?" the shorter girl asks, moving so that's she's standing right in front of her. "You're acting strange. Did something happen with Spencer?"

Ashley's smile widens but she shakes her head. "Nuh uh."

Kyla's one eyebrow shoots up and she doesn't look at all like she believes that. "You sure?"

"I'm positive Kyla," the taller brunette says, rolling her eyes. "Now, quit bothering me. _The Notebook_ is on."

"But you hate that movie," Kyla protests, still scrutinizing. "You say it's too sappy."

Ashley shrugs. "Maybe I'm in the mood for romance."

Kyla smiles. Something _so _happened.

***o*O*o***

Spencer and Ashley haven't so much as spoken since the incident in Kyla's room and that's why on her way to school Monday morning, Spencer feels like she very well may throw up.

"Pull over?" she weakly asks Glen for the fourth time.

"What's the matter with you?" Glen asks, pulling onto the shoulder. "Are you pregnant?"

Jordan outright laughs at that and then quiets down when Spencer glares at him. "What? It's funny. Look, Glen, the only thing Spencer's pregnant with is a breakfast burrito. And ti must've been bad, hence all the nausea."

"Where are you getting all the big words from?" Glen asks, observing Spencer from inside the car as the girl dry-heaves on the side of the road yet again.

"Hence isn't a big word."

"Okay," Spencer breathes, sliding back into the car. "I'm good. I think."

"I think not," Jordan says, still clicking away at his DS.

Spencer reaches over and snatches the thing away from him, holding him off with her leg.

"Gimme it," he groans, straining against her foot. "Gimme."

"Nope. Say something else smart."

"Something else smart," Jordan deadpans and then gasps when she rolls down the window. "You wouldn't dare."

Spencer smirks. "Try me."

"I'm sorry but you left yourself wide open for that one. It's like asking me to stop calling Glen a moron. Crazy talk."

"Drop it," Glen orders from the front seat. "Drop it now, Spencer."

"Okay okay, I'm sorry," Jordan rushes to say and Spencer brings her hand in some.

"And what else…?" she prompts.

"And…is that Ashley?" he asks suddenly, peering out of her window.

"Where?" Spencer squeaks, turning around and yanking her hand back inside.

"Yoink," Jordan quips, snatching his DS back. "Don't play with the master, Spencer-san."

***o*O*o***

"You know, I think this pants make my butt look big," Aiden says, approaching their table.

Courtney chuckles and throws a punch into Aiden's bicep, planting a big wet one on Madison's cheek before sitting down. "Missed you girl."

"Why are you guys so silly this morning?" Kyla giggles as Aidne scoots in behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"No reason, really," he replies, holding her close. "Just feeling extra in love."

"Is Ash okay?" Courtney asks, looking over to the blanching girl.

"She's been extra quiet all morning," Kyla stage-whispers, sharing a look with Madison. "I think she's got mono or something from Chris."

"Maybe she's on her rag," Courtney adds on.

Ashley, unmoving, blinks once. "I can hear everything you're saying but I'm choosing to ignore you."

"Aww, Ashwey. No funny today?" Aiden questions, pouting cutely and she smiles begrudgingly.

"And she's back in the land of the living," Court jokes, doing an impromptu drum roll on the table.

***o*O*o***

"Look at her, dude," Chris says, nudging his buddy. "She so wants me. Can't keep her eyes off me."

Chris' friend raises an eyebrow at him, looking behind them. "I don't think she's looking over here dude."

"Oh yeah?" Chris questions, cinching his bag. "Well then, check this out."

The boy struts over to Ashley's table, head up high and shoulders squared back.

"Hi Ashley," he says, sounding like a game show host.

The girl peers around him, or rather tries to. She can only really lean heavily to one side. If she leans over the other way she might just tip over.

Sighing, she gives up. "What do you want Chris?"

"Is that the way you greet your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Madison, Kyla, Courtney, and Aiden all say at once.

They all look to Ashley who looks just as bewildered. "I don't know what he's talking about."

"Sure you do, babe. Remember? Things were getting hot and heavy at the pier and I asked if you wanted to be my girl and you said 'For sure'. I thought it was weird that you sounded like a ninja turtle but I let it go. You were smokin' babe," Chris grins.

Madison rolls her eyes, holding her tongue and letting Ashley sort out her own business.

She was a big girl after all.

"I was drunk. Whatever I said, I didn't mean it, at all. I'm sorry Chris but, I'm not interested," she says, as sweetly as she can manage.

Chris looks stricken for a moment, but he shakes it off, smile blooming eventually. "Oh, well, yeah. Whatever. It's cool."

He nods a couple times before walking away very uncooly.

"About time Ashley," Madison says, high-fiving the girl.

"You shot him all the way down," Aiden adds. "Way to make him feel like crap."

"I wasn't trying to do that," Ashley speaks up, feeling a little sad. "I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

"Then mission failed, sweetie, 'cause that is one hurting dude," Courtney jokes, gesturing over where Chris has quietly taken an interest in his social sciences book.

***o*O*o***

Spencer gets to school…late.

It's her fault really, she'd had Glen pull over at least two more times, but being that she's the only girl, she's going to blame it on Glen anyway.

They get there so late that she misses meeting up with Ashley in the quad and Spencer can't decide if it's a blessing or a curse quite yet.

Nothing's been discussed and for all Spencer knows Ashley may have been suffering from some slight case of amnesia.

Or maybe she was invaded by one of the body snatchers.

Spencer could've dreamt it all too.

But no, it wasn't a dream.

The band-aid still affixed over her eye let her know as much.

Her stomach is doing jumping-jacks though by the time she's in homeroom and Kyla and Madison make it a point to wave at her, which does absolutely nothing to ease her nerves.

Then Ashley crutches in, on time, and she stops breathing.

Quite literally actually.

"Okay, kids, settle down," Mr. Markham speaks loudly to be heard over the quiet murmur. "Announcements for the weeks are as follows: Dance tickets go on sale Thursday. The actual dance itself is the following day. Please do not get these dates mixed up."

"Yeah, Aiden," some basketball jock speaks up, tossing a wadded up piece of paper at the boy.

"Whatever," Aiden mumbles, blushing with all the snickers being directed at him. Kyla grabs his hand though so he's cool.

"And those of you looking to try out for the school musical should contact Mrs. Minor for auditions," Mr. Markham continues.

Spencer is occasionally breathing now. A breath every minute or so and she hasn't yet worked up the courage to look in Ashley's direction yet.

But when she finally does, she almost falls out of her chair.

Ashley's staring directly at her. "Hi," the brunette mouths.

Spencer's face heats up and she tucks some hair behind an ear. "Hi," she mouths back.

Ashley smiles and turns back to her notebook, pretending to scribble away, occasionally looking up and catching Spencer's gaze.

They do that for the entire homeroom period.

***o*O*o***

"So I was thinking to myself, I said 'Self, why are you wasting your time with the rest of these freshmen when you could be hanging out with the much cooler upperclassmen, who have driver's licenses and are not afraid to use words like 'sex' and 'crap'," Jordan opened with that line, standing right next to Madison at their lunch table. "Whaddya say, huh? Ain't I a stinker?"

"This kid," Courtney laughs, messing up Jordan's hair. "C'mon kid, I'm buying you a desert."

"Your little bro's hilarious Spencer," Aiden laughs, watching the two walk away.

Spencer looks up, having heard her name.

She'd been too distracted by the foot playing under the table with hers.

"I'm sorry?"

"Your brother? He's a riot," Aiden says, turning his attention back to the girl.

"A riot act, yeah," Spencer snorts, stabbing her fruit cocktail. Her eyes shift to catch Ashley's and she smiles at the way Ashley pretends to be not doing anything, sipping on her chocolate milk.

"Hey Ky, remember that time when we went to KFC and we didn't know what to do when they'd ran out of chicken," Aiden says, quite randomly.

But kYla laughs anyway, remembering. "I remember. The lady was all like, 'Welcome to KFC, home of the colonel's original recipe, what would you like to order?' and you were like 'I'd like a bucket of chicken' and she was all, 'I'm sorry sir, we're fresh out of chicken. Would you like to order anything else?'"

Aiden and Kyla are in hysterics by the end of the story.

"I sat there for like two whole minutes, thinking, but like, what else would I want from a place that sells chicken except for chicken. It was pretty freaking hilarious," Aiden finishes, wiping his eyes.

"Did you even order anything?" Spencer asks.

"I…don't remember," he laughs, raking a hand through his hair. "Anyway, who's going to the dance on Friday with us, because I know Kyla's gonna make me go."

Kyla beams, using a hand to mush his cheeks together. "My baby knows me so well," she coos mockingly.

"Hey Mads?" Courtney prompts, looking disinterested.

"Yes, Court."

"So look, like, I don't really wanna go to this thing but since I gotta it wouldn't be completely awful if I went with you, you know?" he says dryly.

"Yeah," Madison matches his tone. "I guess."

"So, we going?"

Madison nods. "We going."

"Sweet," he continues, only grinning afterward.

"Who are you going with Spencer?" Jordan asks, smiling smugly at his older sister.

He's seated across from her, nestled between Kyla and Ashley…tight, too. He'd done it strategically so as to avoid being kicked under the table.

Smart kid.

"I don't think…I'm going," she says slowly, averting her gaze. "I mean, no one's asked me."

"Well…" Jordan starts, still smirking. "You could always fly solo. This is the 2000s woman. You're the one always listening to that feminist crap. Be empowered Spencer. Become your own woman."

"Actually, I was thinking of going by myself too," Ashley speaks up, her eyes on Spencer. "So, like, if you wanted we could hang out once we got there or something."

Kyla nudges Jordan subtly with her elbow and the boy checks his cheeky grin before it gets too wide.

"Oh, yeah, totally," Spencer says, nodding enthusiastically. "I mean, that would be cool."

"Great," Jordan says, biting into another of his cookies Courtney had gotten him. "It's a date."

***o*O*o***

"Mr. Ledger," Mrs. Minor says, surprise sketched into every corner of her voice. "I wasn't expecting you here."

Chris swallows anxiously, standing on the stage. "I would like to auditor for the musical please?"

"Well I know that dear. Which part?"

Chris grins, standing a little straighter. "The lead."


End file.
